


Awake My Soul

by CelticxPanda



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, My Units as Twins, On Hiatus, Original Character-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Insert, kind of?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-05-11 18:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5637436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticxPanda/pseuds/CelticxPanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sister in armor full of strength. A brother in robes full of faith. A stranger in strange clothes full of surprises. </p><p>June had not been expecting to wake up in Ylisse with Chrom and an unfamiliar tactician standing over her, but now she must journey with the Shepherds to discover her purpose in this fantastical world, and how her presence will make a difference in the wars to come.</p><p>On hiatus, sorry guys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New year, new story. I'm not entirely sure how this will change my upload schedule, but I will continue to strive to post once a week on Mondays (save for the past two weeks, but the holiday season is pretty crazy so I hope you understand)
> 
> This fic has been brought to by Bradio's song 'Flyers', which I've been listening to on repeat as I write the first few parts of this fic.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy and comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!

June didn’t remember falling asleep, but she must have because she found herself floating in that fuzzy space between wakefulness and sleep. She supposed thats what she got for staying up all night playing video games. She rolled onto her back, frowning at the brightness that filtered through her eyelids. She hadn’t left the light on, had she? She must have fallen off the bed in her sleep, because her bed certainly wasn’t this hard. She groaned and rolled over again, feeling something prickle her cheek. 

“Hey, Chrom!” she heard an unfamiliar voice approach. “There’s someone there!”

“What is with us and finding people lying in the middle of fields lately?” another voice questioned, a laugh in their query. 

June groaned again, finally opening her eyes to see a sea of green grass around her and two pairs of boots approaching. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking up at the two people approaching. They were gorgeous, one a tall young man with blue eyes that matched his equally blue hair and the other an absolutely tiny woman with icy blue eyes and snowy white hair. 

“Hey there,” the man greeted cautiously. “Are you alright?”

“I think so?” June looked about her, taking in the seemingly endless field of too green grass. “I just…where am I?”

“Another amnesiac?” June turned to see a third figure approaching. The man sat astride a large horse, both of them heavily armored. He glared down at her suspiciously.

“No, I just…” June huffed in frustration, “I don’t know how I got here. Last thing I remember I was in my bed and this is definitely not my bed.”

“Well, where ever you’re from, it must be very far from here,” the blue haired man reasoned. “Because I’ve never seen anyone dressed like you before.”

June looked down at her mossy green hoody and jeans and frowned. She looked back up at the blue haired man and glared at him. “What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?”

“Nothing, really!” the man said quickly. “It’s just…odd.”

“At least I have both my sleeves.”

The white haired woman laughed heartily at that, earning her a betrayed look from the young man.

“I like this one,” the woman said through her laughter. “Can we keep her?”

“We kept you, didn’t we?” her companion joked.

“Milord, must you insist on picking up every stray you come across?” the armored man questioned.

“C’mon, Frederick, she’s obviously from very far away. We can’t just leave her here,” the younger man argued. 

He turned to the woman still sitting on the ground and extended his hand to her. “I’m Chrom. What’s your name?”

“June,” she answered, reaching out to grasp the hand offered to her and pulling herself up.

“Like the month?” Frederick questioned, sounding like he didn’t believe her at all.

“Yeah, my parents aren’t very creative,” June said with a shrug. She glanced toward the white haired woman, who (miracle of miracles) was shorter than her.

The woman caught her gaze and introduced herself with a smile. “I’m Alfre, tactician for the Shepherds.”

“You need a tactician to look after sheep?” June asked, looking back towards Chrom.

Chrom laughed, giving June a nearly blinding smile. “It’s a little more complicated then that. C’mon, we’ll introduce you. You’ll probably be spending quite a bit of time with us until we find out what to do with you.”

June followed close behind Chrom and Alfre while Frederick rode ahead to alert the rest of their men. June stared hard at the back of Chrom’s head, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar. Her eyes trailed from his blue hair to the short white cape about his shoulders to his bare right arm and the strange marking on his shoulder. She gasped out loud when she recognized it, causing Chrom and Alfre to stop and turn to look at her questioningly. She waved it off and the three continued their trek. 

How had she not recognized him until just now? She had been playing Awakening the night before. She didn’t know how, or why, but she was in Ylisse now. But how far into the game’s timeline was she? And who was Alfre? Obviously she was some sort of stand in for the player character, but why wasn’t she Robin? June didn’t know, and that concerned her. She fiddled with the cuffs of her hoodie’s sleeves nervously as they walked. 

“There they are,” June broke from her musings when Alfre spoke up. She turned to June with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, they’re very friendly. I’m sure they’ll take a liking to you quickly. They did for me and Alfred.”

“Alfred?” June echoed.

“My brother,” Alfre explained. “Our parents weren’t exactly very creative either.” 

So both male and female versions of the avatar existed in this version of Ylisse. So what did that make Alfred? Was he a tactician too? Or was he something else? There were so many questions running through her head about everything and she feared she wasn’t going to get the answers she wanted any time soon. 

June and her guides approached the circle of Shepherds, who turned to stare at her as she approached. There were so few of them, this had to be early in the game’s timeline. Someone, however, looked unfamiliar. A young man almost as tiny as Alfre with hair equally white. He stood beside a young man in green who held onto the reigns of a horse that munched on the grass beneath their feet. 

“Jeez, Chrom, what is with you and finding women in fields?” a blonde girl, Lissa, joked, hands on hips and grin on her face.

“To be fair, I’ve only found two,” Chrom shot back casually, and June recognized that they probably bantered like this all the time.

Alfre moved to stand by the white haired boy with the big blue eyes, who’s nervous grip on his staff lessened in her presence. This had to be Alfred. He was a priest. A healer. That had to mean Alfre was the one with the tactician class, right? It made sense, seeing as she had introduced herself specifically as Chrom’s tactician.

“Everyone,” Chrom stepped to the side and reached back to gently push June forward, “This is June, she’ll be with us for a while.”

She could feel the Shepherds’ eyes on her. She attempted to shrink back behind Chrom, but the prince wouldn’t allow it, keeping a firm hand on her back. 

Someone towards the back, June couldn’t see them well, called out, “She doesn’t look like a soldier.”

“Because I’m not,” June grumbled, stuffing her hands into the back pocket of her jeans. Her phone wasn’t there like it usually was. She wondered if she left it back where Chrom and Alfre had found her. Not that it really mattered, it probably wouldn’t work here anyway. She might run back to where they found her and look anyway. 

“Well, then I just hope you like walking,” a red haired woman (Sully, she remembered, a unit she could probably stand to use more in game) said with a wry grin. “Because there’s gonna be a lot of that while you’re with us.”

“Fan-tucking-fastic,” June muttered, thankful she still had her sneakers on. 

 

The group continued their trek onwards, June walking towards the back as Alfre rummaged in the supply wagon.

“Do you have any sort of combat experience?” the snowy haired tactician asked, shuffling through a barrel full of spears.

“Not combat experience, no,” June admitted. “But I do know how to use a bow.”

“Wonderful!” Alfre crowed, moving farther into the wagon and coming back with a lightly worn bow. “We could always use another archer. Here, try this one.”

June took the bow in her hands, pausing in her marching to pull at the string. It moved smoothly in her grasp, and she easily pulled the string back to her cheek. It had been a while since she’d held a bow. She used to do archery all the time at summer camps but college students didn’t exactly go to girl scout camps. 

“This works fine,” she informed Alfre who nodded approvingly and handed her a quiver full of arrows. June slung the quiver low at her hip, which made them easier to reach than if she tried reaching back like she’d seen people in movies doing. 

Alfre jumped down from the still moving cart, landing gracefully on her feet and twirling to march beside June. The bespectacled woman was honestly amazed that someone so small existed in the world. June herself was barely over five foot, which meant Alfre had to be even shorter than that mark. Still, even with how absolutely tiny the woman was, there was an air about her of…well the only word June could think of was ‘badassery’. She held herself in a way that seemed to dare anyone to mess with her, especially when she rested her hand on the hilt of her sword.

June turned her gaze from staring at Alfre out of the corner of her eye to the tactician’s brother, who walked besides Stahl’s horse, hands clenched tightly around his staff. The contrast between the two is almost hilarious. Alfred was cautious and meek and almost distressingly shy. He hadn’t said a word to her yet, though she’d caught him glancing nervously her way. 

“Your brother seems…shy,” June said, trying to sound casual about the whole thing.

Alfre hummed thoughtfully, “Yes. It’s a bit worrying sometimes. I wish I could remember if he’s always been this way, but wishful thinking doesn’t help anyone. He’ll warm up to you eventually.”

June nodded, turning to scan her eyes over the rest of the Shepherds. Stahl rode his horse beside Alfred, chatting amicably with the healer, who smiled sweetly at the cavalier in return. Sully rode up ahead with Frederick, scouting out the landscape. Virion marched beside Lissa and Chrom, regaling the young princess with tall tales. Vaike walked by himself. She didn’t see Sumia, meaning she was likely taking care of the wild Pegasus the group found. June tensed. If Sumia was with the Pegasus, that meant…

“Milord!” Frederick and Sully came galloping back towards the group, his voice calm despite the apparent urgency of the situation. “Risen ahead, they’ve blocked the bridge over the river.”

Alfre was immediately in the middle of things, shouting orders to the men and woman of their company. “Alright, Lissa, grab your staff and stick with Frederick, he’ll keep you safe and you’ll keep us from dying. Stahl, stick with my brother. Sully, you and Vaike are our front line. June!” The archer jumped when Alfre whirled on her. “You and Virion are in the back. Pick off the Risen as they get close, those you don’t get, Chrom and the rest of us will.”

“Wait a minute!” Vaike shouted. “I lost my axe!”

“Then just grab another one from the wagon!” Alfre snapped, pulling two tomes from the wagon, hanging onto one and strapping the other to her waist.

“No, it has to be my axe!” the fighter argued.

“Fine! Then keep to the back with Virion and June until you find the damn thing!” Alfre shouted. “C’mon, these bastards won’t kill themselves.”


	2. How Fickle My Heart and How Woozy My Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my word, thank you for all the kudos and for your comments! Never before have I had such an amazing response to a first chapter, you guys are so nice! Please keep leaving your feedback in the comments, I love to hear from you guys. Anyway, here's chapter two. I hope you all enjoy it!

June felt herself freeze as the Risen bared down on them. Their eyes actually glowed as they spotted the Shepherds, and their mouths hung open as they charged, their loud groaning sending a shiver down her spine. She felt her heartbeat quicken and panic tighten in her throat. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide. But her body wouldn’t move, her sweaty hand gripping the bow Alfre had given her like a life line. 

The twang of Virion’s bow string brought June back into reality and to the fact that if she didn’t help, someone would likely die. She drew an arrow from the quiver at her hip and notched it to the string of her bow. She pulled the string back to her cheek bone and waited. Waited for a clear shot. Waited for the Risen to get closer. Sure she had experience with archery, but that didn’t mean she trusted herself to hit a moving target at such a distance. One of the Risen made it past Sully and Chrom on the front line, making a mad dash for Alfred. He was using his staff on his sister, who’d had gotten injured by one of the enemy’s mercenaries before taking it out. June exhaled sharply and let her arrow fly, watching it stab the warrior through the leg as she reached blindly to her hip to draw another arrow. She quickly notched it and pulled back as the Risen reeled, releasing her arrow as the monster began to move forward again. She aimed true this time, and she nearly gagged as she saw her arrow stab through the monster’s throat. 

“I must admit, my dear,” Virion drawled, pulling his bowstring back and quickly releasing an arrow of his own, “I had not expected you to be so brave.”

“It doesn’t take bravery to kill someone,” June said plainly, eyes watering as the bile she swallowed back down burned her throat.

Virion smirked. “No, perhaps not.”

June’s hands shook as she pulled the string back a third time. It was okay. She could do this. They were just monsters. (She didn’t want to think about what would happen when she was forced to fight actual people.) And they were going to actually kill someone if she didn’t help. She inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself as she released her arrow, wincing as it sunk into another Risen’s chest just before Vaike (now armed with his axe) chopped the thing’s head off. A mage had joined the fray now. It was hard to miss Miriel and her giant hat, even in the chaos of a battle field. 

Virion moved towards the far side of the battle field, hoping to hit more targets without the risk of hitting his comrades. This meant June was on her own. Save for Alfre, who stayed towards the back of the battle in order to keep a better eye on everything. June wasn’t paying attention to her at the moment, there was a swarm of Risen rushing towards Frederick and Lissa, and June knew she had to help thin them out before they made it to the knight and the princess. 

She heard a voice cry out, and her neck cracked as she turned her head to see Alfre on her back and a Risen warrior towering over her. Her yellow colored tome rested at June’s feet and she scrambled to pick it up, clutching it to her chest. She stared in fear as Alfre attempted to scramble back from the Risen. The monster moved slowly, raising its axe over its head with a groan. The tome in June’s arms began to glow and she felt her finger tips tingle as static ran over them. She threw out her arm instinctively, calling out the name of the spell in a loud voice.

“THUNDER!”

The bolt of lighting shot out of her finger tips and slammed into the Risen’s chest, the monster dissipating into inky purple-black smoke like all the others. Alfre turned to stare at June, who was still clutching the tome to her chest like she’d lose it if she loosened her grip at all. 

“You can do magic?” Alfre asked disbelievingly, her eyes wide and her jaw slack.

“I guess?” June managed, suddenly feeling very dizzy.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Alfre muttered to herself, climbing to her feet. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” June questioned, still kneeling on the ground.

“I’ll tell you later,” Alfre said, drawing her sword and turning to run back into the fray.

“Wait your book!” June called, thrusting the yellow leather-bound book in Alfre’s direction.

“Keep it, might come in handy.”

June did keep the book, clutching it to her chest like her life depended on it, her bow abandoned on the ground beside her as she sent bolt after bolt of lightning at her foes. She couldn’t stop shaking and she couldn’t bring herself to actually stand on her feet. Chrom landed the final blow against the very last Risen soldier and June was amazed that almost no one was out of breath. She finally dropped the tome, throwing herself forwards on her hands as she retched violently and tried not to actually hurl. 

“June?” June looked up to see Alfre and her twin standing before her. She bet she looked awful, she could feel the cold sweat rolling down the back of her neck and if she was shaking she was probably pale as a ghost. 

“You okay?” Alfre asked, her voice laced with concern.

“Do you need healing?” Alfred questioned in a tiny voice, trying his best to hide behind his sister despite the fact he was obviously several inches taller than her.

“No…no I’m fine,” June insisted weakly, gulping air into her lungs. 

Alfre smiled softly at the girl and extended her hand to her, which June took, hauling herself up to her feet. She was amazed she managed to stay standing. Alfre bent down and retrieved the tome June had left in the grass. 

“I still can’t believe you can use this,” she admitted, dusting off the book and tucking it under her arm.

“What do you mean?” June asked, bending down to pick up her bow, her grip on it tighter than it needed to be. 

“Archers have never been able to use magic,” Alfre explained. “The fact you can use magic and a bow is unprecedented.”

“Why?”

Alfre blinked at her, surprise evident on her face. “I’m sorry?”

“Why has no one been both an archer and a mage at the same time?”

Alfre opened her mouth to say something, then immediately closed it and brought her hand to her chin, her brows furrowing in thought.

“I…I don’t know,” Alfre admitted. “It’s just never happened before now.”

“Guess that makes me a weird one, huh,” June mumbled, slipping her bow over her shoulder to better carry it.

“Well, certainly not the weirdest I’ve met so far,” Alfre joked.

“Heh,” June laughed weakly. She appreciated Alfre’s attempt to lighten the mood, but she just didn’t feel like laughing. She was grateful that the Risen didn’t leave behind bodies for her to see and smell.

“You sure you don’t need any healing?” Alfre asked, concern back on her face.

“I’m fine…” June asserted, a little stronger this time.

Alfre smiled softly, obviously wanting to say something but keeping it to herself for the time being. The march continued soon after (June never did find her phone), the company moving farther and farther north. June was grateful for her hoodie, which kept her at least relatively warm. Alfre and Alfred didn’t seem the least bit affected by the cold, but that didn’t stop Alfred from standing close to Stahl’s horse when the cavalier offered to help shelter him from the wind. 

June was surprised how quickly they reached the Longfort. It reminded her of the pictures she’d seen of the Great Wall, stretching farther than the eye could see on either side of the main fortress. 

“So this is the fortress?” Alfre hummed thoughtfully, a slight question in her voice.

“Yes, the Longfort,” Chrom clarified. “It stretches along the border of Ylisse and Regna Ferox.”

“The khans that rule Ferox have grown wary of foreigners,” Frederick informed them. “Still, don’t mistake a lack of hospitality for open hostility. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy.”

“Negotiation isn’t my strong suit,” Chrom admitted, “But I’ll do my best. Remember, everyone: your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse.”

June tensed as they approached the fort, knowing full well what was going to happen next. She remembered the first few chapters of the game very well, considering she replayed them often. However, she’d never gotten to the end of the game, which meant at some point she wouldn’t be able to predict what would happen next. The thought worried her, but not as much as the movement of archers along the far end of the fort did.

Frederick noticed them too. “Trouble in the wind, milord. The Feroxi guard are mobilizing.”

“What? Why?”

A booming voice called out from over the walls. “Halt! Who goes there?!”

The group turned their gaze upwards to see a intimidating looking woman in massive armor. She glared down at the Shepherds suspiciously.

Chrom took a step further and addressed the commander, “In the name of House Ylisse, I seek audience with the khans!”

The woman scowled down at them. “Not another step, my bold lad! I have lancers at the ready!”

Alfre moved subtly about the Shepherds, passing out weapons from the wagon and giving orders in case things came to blows. June kept her eyes on the sky, just waiting.

“June,” the bespectacled brunette lowered her gaze to face the whispering Alfre. “Here, take this tome. Use this pouch to carry it with you.”

“We’re not actually going to kill these people are we?” June demanded softly, taking the tome from Alfre. The ‘pouch’ the tactician gave her was more like a holster for the book, which June secured around her waist on the opposite side of her quiver.

“Not if we can help it,” Alfre assured.

The two turned at the sound of a cry. The Feroxi soldiers sent a volley of spears down towards Chrom, who could do nothing but brace himself for the impact…only for it to never come. A young woman on a Pegasus swooped in and snatched the prince up just in time.

“Sumia!” Lissa cheered, watching with the rest of the Shepherds as the two flew through the sky.

Something, a realization perhaps, glittered in Alfre’s eye at the sight. The two landed just behind the company, Chrom immediately jumping to the ground. 

“Oh, Captain, I’m so relieved I made it in time,” Sumia gushed, almost breathless.

“That goes double for me Sumia,” Chrom said. “And this – is the same ornery Pegasus we met on the road?”

“Milord,” Frederick interrupted before Sumia could reply. “They’re coming.”

Chrom’s expression turned stony as he reached for the sword at his side. “All right. The Feroxi way it is!”

“Chrom.” Alfre moved to stand beside the prince. “It would probably be best if we didn’t kill any of our potential allies. I’d advise a bit of restraint.”

“Defeat the commander,” June blurted out, shrinking back when the two turned to stare at her. “If we defeat the commander, then she might call off the soldiers.”

Alfre and Chrom shared a glance and then a nod.

“She has a point. Fine. Chrom, go with Sumia and try to get to the commander before anyone has to kill someone.”

“You got it!” Chrom agreed, turning to leap onto the back of Sumia’s Pegasus. 

The two flew off and Alfre turned her attention to the enemy soldiers on the ground.

“We’ve got archers, which will cause Chrom and Sumia a real problem if we don’t figure out a way to deal with them,” Alfre thought aloud, watching as Sumia flew her Pegasus just out of range of the archers.

“Hey, Alfre?” Alfred tugged on his sister’s cloak. “Is that guy in the big armor one of ours?”

Alfre looked around the battle field in confusion. “Who? What?”

“That one, right there.” Alfred pointed to the far left of the fortress. “He’s like a giant, how do you not see him?”

“That must be Kellum!” Sully shouted. “That lug is like a bloody ghost, half the time you can’t tell he’s there.”

June stared off in the direction Alfred pointed towards, waiting for Kellum to magically appear in her sight. Sure enough, suddenly a tall man in orange and white armor appeared in the snow.

“Oh, I see him now,” June said, trying to help Alfred point the near invisible Shepherd out to his sister.

Alfre’s eyes suddenly widened when she saw him, a spark of inspiration gleaming in her eyes.

“I’ve got it!” she turned on June, making the archer jump back in fear. “You don’t have any armor, but he has tons of it! Just do like Chrom and Sumia did! Pair up and help out. He can’t do a thing against those archers from a distance, but you can! He’ll keep you from getting shot, and you’ll incapacitate the archers so Chrom and Sumia can get close to the commander!”

“Me?” June squeaked. “Why not Virion?”

“Virion’s bow is stronger than yours, so he’ll be focused on the lancers on the ramparts,” Alfre reasoned. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Sully will get you to him fast and then she’ll come back for the rest of us and we’ll start moving towards the fortress’s doors.”

June swallowed thickly, gripping her bow tight in her hands. But she nodded, knowing she’d have to help somehow. She took Sully’s outstretched hand, letting herself be pulled onto the back of the cavalier’s steed. June hung on tightly as Sully’s horse broke into a gallop. 

Kellum turned at the sound of galloping hooves, beaming at Sully as she approached. His smile fell into a confused frown as Sully turned her horse around and June hopped off.

“Kellum, this is June. Make sure she doesn’t die!” Sully shouted as she galloped back to the rest of the Shepherds.

June looked sheepishly up at Kellum. “Hi, sorry about all this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kellum insisted, bracing his giant shield on the ground in front of June. “You’re going to take care of those archers, right?”

“That’s Alfre’s plan, at least.” June confirmed, already notching an arrow to her string. “I’m just hoping to not hit any vital organs.”

The arrow flew, grazing the soldier’s shoulder. June yelped and ducked behind Kellum’s shield as her opponents sent a volley of arrows her way. She heard them bounce off Kellum’s armor with tiny, tinny sounds.

“You alright?” she asked, glancing up at her partner.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Kellum assured. 

June nodded, pulling another arrow from her quiver and notching it to the string. She didn’t have the time to really aim like she did in the last battle, she’d just have to hope that her arrows landed. She leapt out from behind Kellum’s shield, firing her arrow. One of the archers cried out in pain as it landed in the junction of their arm and shoulder. She quickly notched and fired another arrow, catching another archer in the leg, wincing at the wet sound of pierced flesh. 

“Watch out!” Kellum shouted, literally scooping June up with his shield and hiding her behind him as the remaining archers fired in her direction. 

“Thank you,” June sighed in relief. But her job wasn’t done. She notched another arrow and ducked around Kellum to fire. 

“You’re doing pretty well,” Kellum murmured. “Are you sure you’re not a soldier?”

“Positive,” June nodded, loosing another arrow. The final archer fell, an arrow in his thigh. She turned to shout to the sky. “Chrom! Sumia! Go!” 

Sumia and Chrom took off towards the fort, their path clear without the archers. June watched as they flew and disappeared over the wall. She briefly wondered if Sumia would let her ride her Pegasus just once. It looked amazing. 

“June, right?” June turned to Kellum, who smiled down at her. “I’m Kellum. I would have introduced myself properly before, but we didn’t exactly have a chance.”

“It’s fine,” June assured. “And it’s nice to meet you. But it looks like we’ve got more company coming.”

Soldiers were streaming out of the fort, this time armed with spears. Kellum, shielding June with his heavily armored body, pushed her towards the rest of the Shepherds. They moved slowly, Kellum weighed down by his armor and June had to admit she wasn’t very athletic, and the soldiers were quickly catching up. Then Sully came thundering towards them on her horse, Stahl right beside her.

“Trade off!” Sully hollered, grabbing June by the collar of her hoodie and tossing her at Stahl. June was thankful that Stahl was a good catch, snatching her about the waist like a potato sack and throwing her across the front of his saddle before ridding off.

“This is very uncomfortable!” she shouted, bouncing up and down as the horse galloped and probably earning her a very nasty bruise on her stomach.

“Sorry about that, but we have to move quick,” Stahl apologized.

“Why?”

“Because you have no armor and as good at protecting people Kellum is, he can’t save you from everyone.”

They came to an abrupt halt next to Alfre and Alfred and June slid off the horse and onto the ground, landing on her ass. 

“I like horse riding as well as the next guy but never again,” she wheezed. 

“Don’t worry, as soon as we’re done talking to the Khan we’re getting you some armor,” Alfre promised, extending a hand and pulling June off the ground. “But first, we’re taking care of these soldiers.”

June swallowed thickly, pulling an arrow from her quiver once again. Just as she was about to lift her bow, a feminine voice echoed from the top of the fort.

“STOP THE ATTACK!”

The soldiers immediately stopped in their tracks. June breathed a sigh of relief, sliding her arrow back into her quiver before falling gracelessly back onto her ass. 

“Thank god,” she sighed, running a shaking hand through her short hair. 

“Gods had nothing to do with this,” Alfre corrected, a confident smirk on her pale lips. “If you thank anyone, thank Chrom.”

“What the fuck ever,” June grumbled. “I just…I’m just happy I didn’t have to kill anyone.”

Alfre glanced down at the archer and frowned. June pretended she didn’t see it, but she did. She knew what that frown meant. Eventually, she was going to have to kill someone. But for now, she could hold onto that and say her conscience was clear.


	3. I Struggle to Find Any Truth in Your Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! This chapter went on longer than I expect. I kept coming to decent stopping points but my brain went 'nah, keep going' so I did. I had a lot of fun with this one, mostly at June's expense. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! And thank you to everyone who's left comments and kudos so far, I hope to continue to hear from you as the story progresses.

June hadn’t been sure what to expect of the Feroxi capital. There had been little detail given of the place in the game, save for the arena that Chrom would fight for Flavia in. But the place was surprisingly cozy, fires roaring in huge fire places and everything colored in warm, earthy tones. She sat with Alfred and the rest of the Shepherds in the castle’s main dining hall, crowding around long tables on wooden benches. Only Alfre, Lissa, and Frederick had been allowed to accompany Chrom to meet with the khan. Which, June supposed, was understandable. She had no place at political meetings, especially not now. 

Alfred nudged her gently and June turned to see him staring at her, a basket of bread in his hands.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, his voice small. “It’s not much, but the Feroxi were nice enough to offer us some bread while we wait.”

“Thanks,” June murmured, taking a small loaf from the basket before passing it to Kellam beside her. The bread was warm and just the right amount of crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. She wished she had some butter, but that might be a bit of a luxury around here. 

“Are you feeling better?” Alfred asked. “You…aren’t used to fighting, are you?”

June paused, bread halfway to her mouth for another bite. She lowered her hand and frowned, brows furrowing. “No.”

“You’re an amazing archer, though!” June turned to look up at Stahl, who sat on Alfred’s other side. “Surely you have lots of training in that!”

“Well, yes,” June admitted. “But I never trained to use archery for combat. It was a hobby. A rather time consuming hobby, but nothing more than that. I did it because it was fun and I had a weird talent for it.”

“Then why did you stop?” June twisted again to look at Kellam.

“Huh?”

“You’re using past tense,” the knight pointed out. “Which means you stopped for some reason. Why?”

June faced forward again, staring down at her bread rather than face the three men who were speaking to her. “I went away to school. And by that point it was hard to do archery as just a hobby. There wasn’t really a place I could go to practice nearby and it’s pretty expensive to keep up with it. Besides, at my age most people who are still into it are going for competitions and stuff like that. Someone like me, who just wanted to shoot arrows at a target for a few hours a week, was rare and not really catered to.”

“I’m guessing this wasn’t how you wanted to get back into it, huh?” Stahl smiled apologetically at her. 

June let out a harsh laugh and shook her head. “No, but I suppose that’s just how life goes.”

Before Alfred or any one else could say anything else, the doors at the back of the room opened up and Chrom returned with Alfre, Lissa and Frederick at his side. 

“What happened?” Sumia asked. “Did we get the khan’s support?”

“Only if we fight for it,” Chrom sighed. “Apparently we have to fight in a tournament in order to put the khan who will support us on the throne proper. Only then will Regna Ferox support us.”

“H-how long do we have to prepare?” Alfred asked, frowning at his own stuttering.

“A few hours,” Alfre informed him. “Long enough that I can get this one some proper armor.”

Alfre reached out and tugged June from the table by her hood, earning her a squawk from the archer.

“What? Now?” 

“I told you I’d get you armor when we got to town and we’re in town,” Alfre said plainly. “We won’t have any time afterwards, Chrom plans to march straight back to Ylisstol after securing Flavia’s help.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Alfre interrupted, tugging June towards the doors to the town proper. “You’re a sitting duck without armor and I’ll be damned if you get seriously injured or killed because I was too lazy to get you proper armor!”

“I…but…I mean…okay?” 

 

The market was positively bustling despite the cold weather. Stalls were packed together along the street, each adorned with colorful cloths and rugs to keep the patrons and shop keeps warm. Alfre led June confidently down the main street, either ignorant of or deliberately ignoring the curious looks of the people. The two were certainly an odd sight, Alfre with her short stature and snow white hair and June in her unusual clothes. June felt herself shrink back at the attention. Back home she was such a normal person that she never got stared at like this. She didn’t like it.

“In here,” Alfre said with a grin. “We’ll get you some clothes so you can stop worrying about people staring at you. Then comes the armor.”

June ducked in under the deep red cloth, away from the crowd and the cold. A rotund woman came out from behind a back curtain, a motherly smile on her face.

“What can I do for you, dearies?” she greeted, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her apron.

“My friend here is in need of new clothes,” Alfre told her, motioning behind her at June. “Something versatile that would be comfortable in many types of weather. Something that won’t rip easily.”

“Hmm, yes, I think I have just the thing,” the woman said with a nod. She moved forward and took June by the shoulder and pushed her gently towards the curtain at the back of the stall. “You go in there and we’ll bring you some options, yeah?”

“O-okay,” she mumbled. She still didn’t know how to feel about how often she was getting manhandled recently. She pulled the curtain as far shut as she could and tugged her hoodie off over her head. She rubbed at the warm cotton with her thumbs. Would Alfre make her get rid of it? She hoped not.

“June?” she turned at the sound of Alfre’s voice. “Try this on.”

Alfre’s arm shoved its way into the changing room, a bundle of clothes in her hand. June took the clothes from her, waiting until Alfre’s arm had ducked back out behind the curtain before finishing undressing. She was happy for the warm rug beneath her feet as she toed off her sneakers. 

Pants were first. They were dark leggings of some kind, tight against her skin, but not in an uncomfortable way. She patted at them, frowning when she found no pockets at all. She always hated it when her jeans didn’t have front pockets, but without her phone and wallet to carry around, she supposed she didn’t need them. The tunic Alfre had picked out was a deep teal color that looked surprisingly good against June’s olive skin. The sleeves only went halfway down her forearms, but they were tight which would keep them from getting in the way when she had to fight. There was no mirror in the dressing room, so June had to turn and twist to try and get a good look at herself.

“June?” Alfre called. “Are you done?”

“I guess…” June mumbled, reaching out to pull the curtain back. “Do I look okay?”

The shop keeper beamed at her. “You look lovely, dearie. I knew that color would suit you. Oh, but you need shoes. Just one moment.”

She scurried off into her wares. Alfre glanced around June to the archer’s old clothes piled up on the dressing room’s stool.

“We’ll have to find somewhere to toss those, I suppose,” she thought aloud, crossing her arms over her chest.

“No, I want to keep them!” June insisted. “They’re all I have left of home…even if I can’t really wear them out and about. I still want to keep them.”

Alfre seemed surprised for a moment before understanding dawned on her. “I’m sorry, you’re right. It was wrong of me to suggest you just throw them out.”

June sighed softly in relief. Even if she never wore her old clothes again, she didn’t think she could ever part with them. It would be like throwing away any hope of going home, of ever seeing her family again. 

The shop keeper soon returned with a pair of plain black boots. June sat down on a nearby chair and tugged them on. They slid easily over her leggings until the top rested just below her knees and she was happy how comfortably they fit on her feet. 

“Yes, this will do fine.” Alfre gave an approving nod. “Unfortunately, given the situation, traveling with a lot of clothing isn’t really possible, but once everything has settled down I’ll get Lissa and Maribelle to take you on a real shopping trip.”

“Don’t worry about it,” June insisted. “I still have my old clothes so I’ll be fine for a while.”

Alfre passed a small handful of gold and silver coins to the shop keeper and motioned for June to grab her things. “C’mon. You still need armor and I refuse to return to the others until we’ve gotten some.”

June bundled up her old clothes and rushed after the tiny tactician. She was honestly amazed at how fast Alfre could be. June was grateful that her change in clothes did seem to stop the staring, at least at her. Alfre still turned heads, but that was to be expected. She and her brother were gorgeous and strangely ethereal. She almost expected them to leave a trail of frost behind them. 

“Here.” June had to stop abruptly to keep from running into Alfre when she stopped in front of a stall. Alfre leaned over the table piled high with armor and called into the back. “Excuse me!”

A man with graying hair came out from the back carrying a armful of spears, his eyes lighting up at the sight of June and Alfre. “Hey there, girlies. What can I do for you?”

“We need armor for my archer friend here,” Alfre informed him, jerking her thumb back at June, who smiled nervously at the man.

“Certainly!” the main replied cheerfully, setting the spears down and walking over. “Well, for one thing, you’ll need arm guards in a shirt like that. Here…” he bent down and grabbed something from under the table. “See if these fit.”

He passed two arm guards over to Alfre, who held out her hand to June. June set her arm in the tactician’s tiny hand, watching carefully as Alfre strapped the arm guards to June’s forearms. 

“How ambidextrous are you?” Alfre asked, staring down at the guards on June’s arms.

“Like not at all,” June admitted with a shrug.

“You’ll just need the one then,” Alfre decided, taking the guard off her right arm and handing it back to the man. “But gloves and a breast plate would be a good idea.” 

The man nodded, giving June a once over with his eyes before turning back to his stacks of breast plates. He returned with a small, silvery white one. June stared at the intricate patterns that had been carved into the edges, where some one had embedded a line of opalescent blue-green stone. 

“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered. “It almost doesn’t look like armor.”

“It was made for the daughter of some noble family that went under years ago,” the man explained. “It’s the lightest one I have, but it’s sturdy and will keep you safe as well as anything else.”

Alfre took the armor and helped June strap it on. It covered her torso completely from shoulders to waist, keeping everything vital from being exposed. The armor itself was fantastically light, almost like it wasn’t there at all. 

“It’s amazing,” June murmured, twisting and turning to test her range of motion. 

Alfre nodded in agreement before picking up a pair of leather gloves the merchant had brought up for her and handing them to June to try on. One was fingerless and June slipped it onto her left hand. The other was odd, most of her finger tips were left uncovered, save for her middle and ring fingers. These were gloves made specifically for archers, to protect the fingers that did most of the work from the bite of the string. They felt odd on her hands, she’d never worn leather gloves before, just the cheap woolen ones from the supermarket. 

“Are they too tight?” Alfre asked, chuckling a little at June’s wide eyed staring at the gloves on her hands.

“No, not at all,” June replied with a shake of her head.

“Good. Then there’s just one more thing.” June jumped back when Alfre shoved a small, sheathed dagger her way. “Put this in your boot. You never know when you’ll need a good knife.”

June nodded, gingerly taking the tiny blade from Alfre and strapping it to her calf just under the top of her boot. A little surprise for anyone who thought she was disarmed when they took her bow and her tomes away. Alfre nodded her approval and then turned to pay the merchant with a far greater sum then she had paid the other. 

June gathered up the clothes she’d left on the merchant’s table, feeling altogether strange in her own body now. She could feel the press of the dagger’s form against her calf and despite the lightness of her armor, it was still heavier than clothes alone. She followed Alfre through the crowded streets, wondering if her family would even recognize her in the clothes she wore now. 

Her new comrades seemed pleased with her transformation at least, Frederick nodding in approval as Lissa gushed about how Alfre had done a good job with June’s new wardrobe. Stalh took her old clothes and tucked them into a small bag that someone (Alfred informed her in hushed tones that it was Frederick) had embroidered her name onto. This would be her bag to keep any personal affects in, though most of the room was taken up by her clothes and shoes. 

Things were a whirlwind after that. The contest was starting a mere hour from that point and Chrom and Alfre still had to choose the other four units that would join them in the arena. June and Alfred were spared the ‘honor’ along with Lissa. This was not a fight to the death, so healers weren’t as necessary as during a real fight. Stahl and Sully were also spared from having to participate, not that Sully was all that happy about it. Sumia’s Pegasus was deemed unable to fight, given the closed off nature of the arena and Virion just plum didn’t want to get involved. 

The arena was as ornate as one could expect from a nation like Regna Ferox. The floor was an intricate pattern of colorful tiles but the walls were a plain, sandy stone and the seats were unadorned wooden benches. June and the others crowded together in Khan Flavia’s personal box, which sat opposite the arena from her opposing Khan’s. These were, according to Flavia, the best seats in the arena. June sat between Stahl and Sumia as she watched Chrom and Alfre take the field with Frederick, Vaike, Miriel, and Kellam. 

The sound of a gong or some other similar instrument called for the fight to begin and she saw Chrom rush towards a young man with similarly dark blue hair in a butterfly shaped mask. Lissa gasped when she recognized the man, tugging excitedly at Alfred’s sleeve. 

Chrom and the masked fighter seemed to be talking as they dueled, but it was impossible to hear anything over the roar of the crowd. They seemed to be in their own world, ignoring the fighting between their teammates around them. Vaike smashed through the heavily armored units with a hammer he picked up sometime after the Shepherds had reached the Longfort and Kellam easily deflected the arrows of the archers for Alfre and Miriel. Frederick rode about the arena, cutting down his opponents left and right until all that was left was Chrom and the mask swordsman. 

The two of them seemed evenly matched, but that wouldn’t do for Alfre. The tactician threw a gust of wind at Chrom’s opponent, knocking him asunder and giving Chrom the ability to pin him with the point of the Falchion. 

Flavia jumped from her chair behind June and the others with a cheer, the roar of the audience louder than ever as the gong-like instrument that June couldn’t locate rang again to end the contest. Lissa and Alfred were immediately on their feet, pushing the others out of the box to meet their siblings and comrades on the arena floor. 

Lissa threw herself at her brother, wrapping her arms around his neck and forcing him to spin her about to keep from falling. Alfred was much more subdued but he did hug his sister tightly, though more out of relief that she was uninjured than anything else. June stood towards the back, refraining from participating in the celebrations. 

“Well fought!” Flavia stepped forward with a grin. “You have my respect. And, perhaps more to the point, you have your alliance. I will provide Ylisse with the soldiers she needs.”

The smile on Chrom’s face could outshine a star. “Truly? Thank you East-Khan.”

Flavia laughed heartily at that. “I should thank you! It feels like ages since I’ve held full power. Come, my new friends! Tonight, we celebrate!”

She left, a spring in her step. Her presence was soon filled by another. A tall man with dark skin like Flavia but far less hair. June recognized Basilio, the West-Khan Chrom and the others just unseated from power. June mostly ignored the conversation, it was something she’d read several times already, once for each of the three files she had. The surrealness of her situation hadn’t truly hit her until now, watching these men converse, knowing every word they’d say. There would be a time when she couldn’t know what would come next, but that wouldn’t be for a long while. 

“Milord? Milady? If this fascinating discussion is over, we’d best return home. The exalt will want news of our new alliance immediately,” Fredrick said, a tone of long suffering in his voice.

“Right as always, Frederick,” Chrom agreed, making to lead the rest out of the arena.

“Hold, boy,” Basilio called. “Before you go, I have a little present for you.”

June held her breath as Basilio motioned for a man to come forward out of the shadows of the vomitorium that led into the arena proper. Lon’qu. Basilio’s former champion and the man that June had married in two out of her three game files. He was even more handsome then June could have expected and she felt her face heat up as the myrmidon approached, power and confidence in each step he took. 

“Oh no,” she whispered to herself, glad she had stood back from the others. “He’s hot.”

“This is Lon’qu,” Basilio introduced, “my former champion. Not much for talking, but he’s peerless with a sword. As good as Marth, in my mind. To be honest, I can’t figure out how Marth bested him so quickly.”

Lissa’s eyes went wide in amazement. “Marth beat him? But he looks so big and strong…”

She moved to approach Lon’qu, who tensed and stepped back quickly, a scowl coming to his face.

“Away, woman!”

Lissa’s face went from awe filled to insulted and confused. “Hey! Wh-what did I say?”

June hide a smile by ducking her head. She remembered this too, Lon’qu fear of women. It had been a source of great amusement in the support conversations she’d gotten between him and her avatars or any of the other women in the army. 

“…Consider him West Ferox’s contribution to the Ylissean cause.” June caught the last bit of Basilio’s speech, her eyes returning to Lon’qu’s still tense form. 

“You’re certain about this?” Chrom asked.

Basilio nodded, waving his hand dismissively. “Yes, yes. He’s your man now.”

Chrom turned to face Lon’qu. “And Lon’qu? You have no objections?”

Lon’qu shrugged, his face impassive. “He gives orders. I stab people. I think our roles are clear.”

June chuckled lightly at that, causing Lon’qu to turn his gaze towards her. June nearly jumped out of her skin as their eyes met. She quickly turned away, her cheeks burning red. Thankfully, the swordsman said nothing.

 

Despite Flavia’s invitation, the Shepherds didn’t stay for any sort of celebration. They set out almost immediately from Ragna Ferox for Ylisstol. June sat with Lissa on the back of the supply cart for the majority of the trip, chatting with the good-natured princess. 

“So,” Lissa drawled out of the blue as she watched Lon’qu walk pass them, “You think Lon’qu’s hot, huh?”

June nearly choked on the gulp of water she’d taken from a water skin, coughing violently. Lissa smacked her back in a way that didn’t help anything and June ended slapping her hand away as she managed to catch her breath.

“Where the hell did that come from?” June shouted.

“Well, you said it yourself when Basilio introduced him to us,” Lissa said with a shrug. 

“Oh god, I didn’t think anyone heard that!” June wailed, hiding her face in her hands. 

“Most people weren’t paying attention, so I think you’re fine,” Lissa giggled. “But do you really?”

“I mean, I guess?” June groaned. “He could be worse.”

Lissa shrugged. “If you think you can get passed that fear of women he’s got, you’re free to try.”

June sighed heavily. “Who am I kidding? I doubt I could any guy to look twice at me, let alone one who’s terrified of women.”

Lissa smiled sympathetically. “C’mon. I think you’re pretty. I bet you could turn plenty of heads if you wanted to. It’s all about confidence. At least that’s what Maribelle says.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence but I’m not that kind of lucky,” June joked with a roll of her eyes.

 

They spent a whole day and night on the road before Frederick called out that they were approaching Ylisstol. June clambered through the supply cart to the front where Vaike was at the reigns. He laughed out loud at her slack jawed amazement. 

“That’s Ylisstol?” June asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yep, that’s home,” Vaike replied with a nod and a grin. “What, you never seen a city before?”

“Nothing like that,” June answered vaguely. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m sure Emmeryn would be happy to hear you say that.” June turned to see Chrom walking beside the wagon. “My sister has always been proud of her city.”

“Your sister is the exalt?” June asked, despite knowing the answer to her own question. 

“That’s right.” Chrom nodded, a fond smile on his face.

“She sounds like a wonderful person,” June murmured. “You must love her a lot.”

“More than anything.”

June felt a pang of guilt in her heart. She should say something, shouldn’t she? But would that stop anything? Would they believe her? She didn’t have any immediate proof. There was already one person meddling with the fate of this world, she doubted they needed another one.

Frederick, Chrom, Lissa, and Alfre separated from the rest of the group to go speak with Emmeryn. Sully promised to show June to one of the spare rooms in the barracks so she could claim it for her own. 

The room was small, which was to be expected she supposed. Just big enough for a single bed, a small chest of drawers, and a desk. Her window overlooked a inner courtyard where pathways were lined with pale blue flowers. June put her old clothes into the drawers, save for her hoodie. That she kept in her bag. They’d be leaving soon anyway. She just wasn’t sure where for yet. 

A knock came at her door just before Alfred opened the door, a concerned look on his face.

“Um…we’re going to be marching in the morning,” he informed her. “There have been reports of bandits in the south. Chrom wants to go help the people.”


	4. And Now My Heart Stumbles On Things I Don't Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, I'm back with another chapter. I think the best thing about having two on going stories is even when I'm stuck on one, I can always post on the other and keep to my Monday updates! I was very excited for this chapter and I think you'll soon know why. Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it!

June awoke early the next morning, just as dawn was starting to shine through her window. Her clothes had been cleaned by the castle staff some time in the night and the clean fabric felt good on her skin. She’d taken a bath the night before, just after dinner, finally clean for the first time in days. Or at least it felt like days. 

She tugged on her boots and wandered down to the courtyard. She saw Stahl and Sully walking towards the stables and followed after. The smell of horses was strong and nostalgic, reminding her of summer camp days.

“Good morning,” Stahl greeted when he saw her, smiling sleepily.

“Good morning,” June replied, looking at the long line of horses rather than the cavalier. She smiled at the young palomino closest to her, reaching out to let the horse smell her hand. 

“You like horses?” Sully asked, grabbing a saddle from the supply room and setting it on her horse’s stall door.

“Yeah, I used to ride some as a child. I haven’t in years,” June murmured, stroking the young palomino on the neck. 

Stahl and Sully exchanged a look, the red head grinning wildly. “I bet Frederick wouldn’t mind lending you a horse for the trip. Chrom says it’ll take at least three days to patrol the south. And tired soldiers make for poor fighters.”

June frowned and muttered, “I’m not a soldier.” 

Sully didn’t seem to hear her. “I’ll bet he’ll even let you take that mare out. We just recently weaned her last foal off her and it’s not time for her next one. He’s probably helping Alfre load the supply wagon, we can ask him.”

And so, June found herself riding about the southern plains of Yilsse atop the palomino mare. She was a gentle beast, slow to start but ultimately obedient and happy to be out of her stall and padlock. She was a fairly small horse, especially compared to Frederick’s giant war horse that easily carried an armored Frederick, its own armor, and Lissa behind the knight. 

The campaign had been mostly peaceful, but June knew that it wouldn’t be that way for long. She knew what happened in the south of Ylisse. Hell, as far as she knew, it was the only important thing that happened in the south of Ylisse. 

They had stopped to set up camp just a mile or so outside a village. The sun was just starting to set over the trees in the distance, turning the sky a brilliant orange. June had just brought her horse a bucket of water from the nearby stream when a young boy with a pot on his head came running through the camp.

“Halp! You gots to help us! I’m beggin’ you, milords!”

Chrom was in front of him immediately, hands up to stay the panicking young man. “Slow down. What happened?”

Not a moment later, a bandit barreled into the camp, axe in hand. “Oy! There’s the wee piglet!” 

“There’s our bandits,” Chrom said with a scowl.

“What’s this? A little lordling come to watch over his chattel? Hawhawha-“ the brigand’s face paled as he realized who’s camp he’d stumbled into. “Aw, damn me! Sh-Shepherds!”

Chrom smirked. “That’s right. So, what’ll it be? Run and live? Or fight and die?”

The brigand ran off in the direction of the village, leaving the boy behind. Chrom turned to the farm boy, a stern look on his face.

“Quickly, lad. What happened here?”

“Y-yes, milord! Right away, milord! …Er, if it please Your Graciousness.” The boy stumbled over his words.

Chrom smiled gently at the boy. “Maybe just hold off on the titles for now. What’s your name?”

The boy nodded, taking a deep breath to steady himself before speaking. “Donny. Er, that is, Donnel. …Your Majestyful. I live in the village just beyond.”

June listened as Donny explained his situation to the prince and begged for his help. These must be the brigands and bandits Emmeryn had heard reports about. Her heart went out to the young boy, she had always been very lucky to live in the place she had. It was a very nice town with very little crime. Bandits was not something she ever had to worry about. But here, it was something the common person had to worry about nearly every day. She gripped her bow, fear warring with sympathy and determination. Chrom asked for Donny to lead the Shepherds to the bandits, and the group burst into action, grabbing weapons from the supply cart and putting out their camp fires, save for the one Miriel, Virion, and Vaike sat around. They would stay to guard the camp, in case any more stray bandits decided to wander in. Alfre even grabbed a bronze lance for Donny, just in case. 

The boy led them through the forest surrounding the town and around the village proper to a small cluster of ruins just beyond it where the bandits had set up camp. 

“This here’s where they’ve taken up camp, Your Lordshipness,” Donny whispered, crouching behind a tall bush.

“Er…right. Thanks, Donny. Stay close, now,” Chrom ordered.

Donny blanched. “Beg pardon, milord? You don’t mean…? I…I can’t fight, sir! I ain’t never even stuck a pig before!”

Chrom frowned in concern. “Oh, sorry. I just assumed…I mean…Look, just stay here. You’ll be fine.”

Donny looked down at the dirt beneath his boots, a heaviness in his shoulders. “I wish I was strong as you sirs and madams! Kick that scum out single handed, I would!”

June felt a tightness in her chest at that. She wasn’t strong. She wasn’t a soldier or whatever Chrom wanted to call his little band. And she didn’t want to be thought of as such. But the desperation in Donny’s voice forced her to be silent. She couldn’t bare to discourage the boy at this point. Her grip on her bow tightened as her brow furrowed and her gaze fell to the dirt below her. 

“No man’s born a warrior, Donny,” Chrom said softly, catching June’s ear. “And farm work makes for fine training. A sickle’s not far from a sword, after all. Bandits may be tougher than wheat, but the principle’s the same.”

Donny sniffled, his face hardening with determination. “A-alright, milord. As you say, I’m no warrior. But these’re my people. I gots to do what I can!”

June felt a small smile creep onto her face despite her still furrowed brow. Aye, that’s a good lad. 

Alfre was in the middle of things again. “There are some bandits to the north just there, including at least one archer. Kellam, take Donny up that way. Let him get the kill if you can, these are his people so let him do what he can. June, take Lon’qu and go up that way with them.”

June’s head shot up. “What? Why?!”

“You so you can incapacitate the bandits so we can make sure Donny gets hurt as little as possible. Lon’qu will be going up to watch your back. Until you guys are done up there and join back up with us, then you’ll be watching his back with your magic. Swords tend to do better with axes and there seem to be a lot of axes here.”

June had to admit she was right, but that didn’t stop her from sending a glare at Lissa, who squeaked and hid behind Frederick. 

“But once you guys make sure there’s no one to swoop around and close off our escape route, Kellam will go with Sully, who will be with me to start, and they start plowing through the bandits till we get to their leader. Groups like this tend to scatter if you take out the head honcho, so that’s who we’ll be aiming for. I’ll stay with Donny after the switch. Sumia, you stick with Chrom. If things start getting bad, you fly him the hell out of here. He’s too important to let die out here. Stahl. You keep my brother safe. Frederick, I know you’ll take care of Lissa.”

“Everybody ready?” Chrom waited for the nods. “Let’s go!”

 

June took the first shot before any of the bandits knew they were there, letting her arrow fly towards one of the nearby enemy barbarians. It missed her intended target of his shoulder, instead landing in his thigh, but she supposed that was just as well. With their cover blown, the Shepherds leapt from the bushes and rushed to meet the brigands. As planned, Kellam, Lon’qu, and June escorted Donny just to the north of their initial hiding spot to take out the two bandits that were there. The arrow June managed to land in the axe-wielder’s thigh slowed him down just enough that Kellam could make it to him to block his axe before Donny finished him off with a lance to his chest. 

June gulped down the bile that burned her throat. This wasn’t like the Risen, who disappeared into black smoke the moment you defeated them. This death left residue. Blood that splattered across the ground and bodies with open, sightless eyes that stared up at you in shock and horror. June felt her legs wobble beneath her and her vision blurred as tears prickled in the corner of her eyes from the burning in her throat and her heart pounded beneath her armor.

“Look out!” June felt the earth move from underneath her feet as Lon’qu shoved her to the ground and an arrow went flying over their heads. June watched as it planted itself in the ground a few feet behind them. It was then that she realized that Lon’qu was practically on top of her, the smooth leather of his arm guard cool on her bare right forearm. She felt her heart pound for a totally different reason for a brief moment before she saw the look in Lon’qu’s eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he shouted, a angry scowl on his face.

“I-I’m sorry! I just…” June blinked back her tears. “I’m not a soldier or warrior or whatever you want to call it! I don’t kill people! I’ve never killed people. I just…I can’t-“

June struggled to breathe, her throat tightening and her heart racing. Her hands were shaking and her vision was blurring more than ever as she felt the tears roll down her cheeks. She couldn’t do this. She had to run. But her legs wouldn’t move. She barely recognized Kellam’s shield as it came to rest in front of them to block more arrows. She could feel their eyes on her, though. She could feel their stares. She felt like throwing up.

“Calm down!” Lon’qu barked. “You can freak out when the fight is done, but Chrom and the others are depending on you right now. So suck it up and finish the fight. You haven’t killed anyone just yet.”

“Ma’am.” June’s head whipped up and her eyes met Donnel’s. “You’re very brave to be out here fightin’ when you don’t wanna be. Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you don’t have to kill nobody, y’hear.”

June felt the tightening in her throat fade, just enough for her to inhale deeply to calm her racing heart. Her stomach still turned and the bile she forced back down still burned, but this was manageable. The sound of the archer’s arrows bouncing off Kellam’s armor spurred her into action. She grabbed her bow from where she had abandoned it on the ground and pulled an arrow from her quiver. She took a quick moment to let her gaze sweep over the faces of the men around her. She could defend her friends. Or at least she could try.

She stood and notched her arrow in one smooth movement, aiming around Kellam’s shield and letting it fly. She inhaled sharply when it landed squarely in the archer’s stomach, looking away as Kellam and Donny charged ahead to finish the man off. She had to keep reminding herself that these were bad men who plundered tiny villages and killed innocent civilians. She and Chrom and all the others were the good guys here. 

So why did it still feel so damn awful?

With the enemies taken care of, the four rushed after the rest of the group. June slung her bow over her shoulder and grabbed her tome, clutching it close to her chest. They passed several more dead bandits as they struggled to catch up with Chrom and the others. June squeezed her eyes shut, desperate not to see them. 

“Don’t go closin’ your eyes, now,” Donny said softly, gently. “You’ll trip over a root or somethin’ and bust your pretty face up.”

“I don’t care. I just…I can’t…” June struggled to find the words to explained how she just couldn’t take the sight of those lifeless eyes and the too red color of the blood.

“Take my hand, then,” Donny offered, holding out his hand to her. “ ‘Least then I can keep ya from runnin’ into a wall.”

June nodded, reaching out and taking Donny’s warm, rough hand in her own. She closed her eyes again, savoring the feeling of Donny’s hand in hers. Because the moment they caught up with Chrom and the others, she’d have to let go and fight like she really meant it, even if she didn’t. She felt pathetic. Donny had to be at least two or three years younger than her, but here he was, leading her around like she was the child. Her grip on his hand tightened a little and he squeezed hers back reassuringly. 

She heard the sounds of fighting grow louder and she forced her eyes open. They’d almost caught up. Donny rushed forward to meet up with Alfre like was planned, but then June caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A thief was running at Donnel, blade drawn. Kellam wouldn’t be able to make it in time, his armor made him too slow. 

“Donny, look out!” June shouted. 

Donny turned to look back at her, only for the thief to catch him off guard. The bandit sliced Donny’s lance in two and knocked the boy to the ground. As he raised his blade for the final blow, June felt a rage ignite in her chest. Her tome glowed and she threw out her hand and roared.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!”

Lightning flew from her finger tips in a way that seemed far more frightening and fierce than usual, slicing through the air and exploding upon contact with the thief’s chest. He collapsed to the ground, body twitching as the electricity finished running its course through it. June choked when she saw the light leave the man’s eyes. She’d done it.

She’d killed someone.

Donnel picked up his broken lance, discarding the half that didn’t have the bronze spear head. He smiled brightly at her, like she hadn’t just electrocuted a man to death. 

“I owe ya!” he called to her, just barely waiting for Kellam to catch up with him before he trotted off to join up with Alfre.

June took several heaving breaths, staring down at her hand that still sparked with residual magic. She felt sick all over again, cold sweat rolling down her neck. She was brought back out of it by Lon’qu’s surprisingly light touch on her shoulder. Right. She could throw up later. Right now she had to help her friends. She had to keep Donny safe just long enough to rescue his mother and the rest of the villagers. She brought her hand back to curl around her tome and ran after Donny and Kellam, Lon’qu right beside her.

The rest of the battle was a blur. June couldn’t remember what happened between her killing the thief and Donny landing the finishing blow on the bandit leader. She wasn’t there for the conversation with his mother, but she knew he was coming with them. She could practically hear the level up music when he killed the bandit’s leader. Instead, she leaned against one of the ruined walls that just moments before hid an enemy archer, trying to breathe. The fight was over, everyone was safe and Donny hardly got a scratch on him thanks to everyone’s hard work, but June still felt like shit. 

“June?” 

June held up a hand to whoever was approaching her as the tightness returned to her throat and she retched, violently coughing up the little bit of food she had left in her stomach from the light lunch they’d eaten earlier that day and a hell of a lot of bile. Tears poured from her eyes and tickled her cheeks and her hands were clammy. She gasped for air as sweat caused her hair to stick to her forehead and neck. She didn’t know how she could deal with any more of this, especially when this was just the beginning.

“Are you alright?” She looked up to see Stahl and Alfred staring down at her, concern evident on their faces.

“No,” June replied plainly. “I’m not. Fucking hell, how do…how can you do this all the time?”

Stahl frowned uncomfortably and shrugged. “You just get used to it, eventually.” 

“That definitely does not make me feel any better,” June whimpered, coughing up some more bile and spitting it out onto the dirt under her.

“Do you want me to heal you?” Alfred asked. “It might help settle your stomach.”

“Don’t worry about it,” June insisted. “Just…get me the fuck out of here.”

Alfred shuffled over, helping her up from the ground. They walked slowly back towards the main camp with the rest of the Shepherds, Donny among them like June knew he would be. He hung back, walking with June and Stahl and Alfred. He tried to thank her for saving his life, but she cut him short with a forced smile and telling him not to mention it. She didn’t want to think about it. She wanted to put her first actual kill behind her and forget it. But she had a feeling she’d never forget the sparks on her finger tips and the way the thief’s body twitched even as the life left his eyes. She inhaled deeply to fight back another wave of nausea. 

The next morning, their mission in the south done, the Shepherds packed up and made their way back north to Ylisstol. Donny rode along on the back of the supply cart, his legs swinging his legs absent mindedly as he gazed about. June had a feeling Donny had never left his village before that day and the awe on his face was enough to send her giggling atop her horse. 

“It’s just countryside, Donny,” she called teasingly, causing the farm boy’s face to turn red. “Just wait until you see Ylisstol proper. That’ll knock your socks off.”

“I ain’t never been this far from the village ‘fore,” Donny said, confirming June’s suspicions. “But I reckon I’lll be seein’ a lot more ‘fore I’m done.”

June nodded solemnly. “I don’t doubt it.”

“By the way, ma’am,” Donny continued, leaning as far towards June and her horse as he could without falling off the cart. “Your horse is mighty pretty. What’s its name?”

June frowned at that. “I…I’m not sure. I didn’t think to ask…”

“Her name is K’in,” Stahl, who’d been riding just a bit in front of June, turned and called.

“K’in?” June echoed testing out the unfamiliar word on her tongue.

“It means gold in some old Chonsin dialect,” he clarified. 

“K’in,” June murmured softly, reaching down to stroke at the young mare’s neck. She decided she liked the way it sounded.

June could feel Donny’s eyes on her every so often as they continued to travel north towards Ylisstol. She wondered what about her was such a curiosity for the boy, she assumed that once she’d started wearing clothes more common in this world people would just start assuming she was from Ylisse. Was it the way she spoke? The way she held herself? The way she reacted to a battle? The way she used both bows and magic? 

They stopped for the night when the sky started turning orange and lavender. June wasn’t about to rest, though; she had something she needed to do. 

She found Lon’qu outside the mess tent, peeling potatoes for whoever was on cooking duty that night (June hoped it wasn’t Sully). She stopped just in front of him, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. She saw his shoulders rise as his posture became stiff. He at least knew she was there.

“I need to ask you a favor,” she said, waiting for Lon’qu to look up at her before she continued.

“What’s that?” he grunted, his eyes on the potato and small knife in his hands.

“I want you to teach me how to fight with a knife.”

That managed to get Lon’qu to look up at her…and scoot his stool back a few inches. June reached down and pulled her dagger from her boot to show him. It was a small thing, the blade barely longer than three inches, but it was sharp and in the right hands it could do a good deal of damage.

“Why?”

June sighed in frustration. “Because what good is it for me to have it if I don’t know how to use the damn thing. Basilio said you’re peerless with a blade, or did he only mean the long ones you can behead someone with?”

Lon’qu’s eyes narrowed at the challenge. He scowled and turned his attention back to his potato peeling. “Fine. Once we’ve returned to Ylisstol I’ll teach you.”

“Why not start while we’re marching?” June asked, sliding the dagger carefully back into its sheathe inside her boot.

“Because there are no practice weapons with us and I’d rather not get blamed for you cutting your fingers off the first day of practice.”

“Fair enough,” June admitted. She smiled at the man, even if he didn’t see it. “Thank you, Lon’qu. This means a lot to me.”

Lon’qu grunted, eyes never leaving his quickly working hands. June shrugged, guessing she wasn’t going to get any more conversation out of the man. She left, walking towards the large fire Frederick had set up in the middle of camp. She stopped when she saw Stahl and Alfred sitting together on a large log. Alfred held out his healing staff, letting it hover over a cut Stahl had gotten on his arm. June slowed her walk, listening in.

“I wish you had told me you’d gotten injured,” Alfred said, a small frown on his face. “I know you were worried about the others, but still.”

“It wasn’t even that bad,” Stahl insisted gently. “Didn’t bleed or anything. Besides, how silly would I look if I came crying to a healer because of a cut I got while gathering firewood?”

“Bleeding or not, it could have gotten infected! Especially if you got it in the woods!” Alfred scolded, slapping Stahl on the shoulder. “From now on, I don’t care how you got injured, when you do, you come to me!”

Stahl chuckled softly and gave Alfred’s hand a small squeeze. “I promise.”

June decided that this was an alright time to finally alert them to her presence. “Hey, guys.”

Alfred jumped, quickly taking his hand back from Stahl. “H-hello, June. Are you feeling better?”

“Well enough, I guess,” June replied with a shrug, sitting down near the fire. 

Soon, the rest of the Shepherds had crowded around the fire, sharing a stew that Alfre had thrown together using some wild bird Donnel had caught. It was fairly bland, but warm and comforting in a way June assumed soups usually were. After the meal was had and the sun had set all the way, Sully stood and rapped sharply on her bowl with her spoon. The Shepherds turned towards her, some with massive smiles of anticipation on their faces.

“Alright, who’s gonna go first?” she asked, hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

“First with what?” June asked, setting her bowl down in her lap.

“With songs of course! Nothing like a good round of songs to celebrate a victory! C’mon, why don’t you go first? Sing that song you always hum when you don’t think people can hear you.”

June’s face turned red and she ducked her head down. “I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Kellam called from across the fire. “Your humming sounds nice enough, surely your singing can’t be that bad.”

“It’s not a question of my skill as a singer, I can sing fine,” June muttered. It was true enough, she had sang in choir during middle school and high school. “The songs I know aren’t really like the songs you’re used to.”

“Well, that just makes us want to hear one even more,” Chrom argued with a smile. “What sort of songs do they have where you’re from?”

June shifted her gaze from one Shepherd to the next, all of them looked curious or even a little excited at the prospect of a foreign song. June sighed, she supposed she could think of something to sing. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the fire on her face and the comforting presence of the men and women she had come to call her friends around her. She started quietly, but soon her voice was carrying over the trees around them and into the open air.

_“How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes_   
_I struggle to find any truth in your lies_   
_And now my heart stumbles on things I don’t know_   
_My weakness I feel I must finally show.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how did ya'll like June's critical hit quote? lol For those of you interested, I created a playlist for June on 8tracks [ which you can find here](http://8tracks.com/celticxpanda/awake-my-soul-i-see-the-hope-in-your-heart). Depending on the response I might make one for the twins as well! Again, thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you in the comments!


	5. My Weakness I Feel I Must Finally Show

June collapsed onto her bed upon returning to Ylisstol. The three day march back, while peaceful, had been tiring. She was grateful to Sully for offering to put K’in back in her stall so June could return to her room and rest. She had not slept well since the fight with the bandits, her sleep haunted by nightmares of pools of blood and sightless eyes. 

She sat up on her bed, looking towards the chest of drawers where her old clothes resided. She stood up and walked over, pulling open the drawer and taking hold of her hoodie. She held it up to her face, inhaling its sent. It still smelled like home. The scent and softness of the hoodie calmed her. She knew she’d be taking it with her on the next few campaigns. She had a feeling she’d need it.

Her stomach growled. Along with poor sleep, she hadn’t eaten well on the march back to Ylisstol. Things she put into her stomach tended not to sit well after when had happened at the Far Fort. But now, for the first time in days, she was actually hungry. She slipped her hoodie on over her tunic and wandered down to the dining hall, hoping the castle staff had been kind enough to prepare food for the returning soldiers. 

June counted herself lucky when she found a table laid out with simple but bountiful food. She at least tried to ignore the curious looks of the staff as she piled a plate high with as many different kinds of food as she thought her stomach could handle. She ate slowly, not wanting to overwhelm herself when her stomach had only recently decided to cooperate again. She looked up when she heard the door open to see Donny walk in, looking around curiously. His expression brightened when he saw her, waving enthusiastically in greeting as he jogged over.

“Hello, Donny. Exploring the barracks?” she asked, popping a grape into her mouth.

“You bet. I ain’t never seen anything like it!” Donny enthused, sliding onto the bench across the table from her. “Are ya feelin’ better?”

“I think so. Ask me again later, after I’ve seen if I can keep this down.”

There was silence between them, Donny shifting restlessly in his seat. He seemed like he wanted to ask her something, but didn’t know how to go about it. 

“Miss Alfre says you ain’t from ‘round here,” Donny finally said. “Where ya from then?”

“Far away from here,” June said vaguely. “It’s very different from Ylisse, to say the least.”

“Do ya miss your family?” he asked, leaning down to lay his head on his arms.

“You know…I haven’t really had the chance to think about them,” June murmured, stopping her eating as a unexpected sadness washed over her. “So much has been happening since I got here, I’ve hardly had a moment of peace. I guess it’s a good thing…if I don’t think about them I can’t be sad. I wonder if they know I’m gone.”

Donny frowned deeply, his eyes dropping away form June’s face in something akin to shame. “I didn’t mean ta make ya sad. ‘M sorry.”

“It’s okay, Donny,” June soothed. If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t even that sad. Not the kind of sad she’d thought she’d be at least. She didn’t feel like crying, or locking herself away in her room like she usually did when she was feeling blue. 

“D’ya wanna talk ‘bout ‘em?” Donny asked quietly, as unsure of how June felt as she herself was.

“Maybe later,” she murmured. Someday maybe she’d talk about her family, when the strange heaviness and desire for quiet had passed. 

“Okay.” Donny nodded with a small smile. 

Suddenly, Vaike burst in through the doors, sweat on his brow and a surprisingly solemn look on his face. “Get ready to march. The Exalt is going to parley with King Gangrel and Chrom wants everyone ready for a fight.”

June and Donny turned to look at each other and June gave him a half smile.

“No rest for the wicked, I suppose,” she said bitterly, standing from the table and walking towards the door.

 

It was nearly nightfall by the time the band was ready to go. The wagon was restocked with food and spare weapons, including some powerful new tomes Alfre had picked up at some market in one of the villages along the road from the Far Fort to Ylisstol. 

June fiddled with her breast plate, trying to make it cover as much of her body as she could. She appreciated the look and lightness of her armor, but it always concerned her that her back and sides were exposed the way they were. Then again, Chrom had very little in the way of armor and many of her companions had next to none. She was lucky to have as much as she did. 

Chrom walked through the courtyard with Lissa and Alfre at his side. “Well then? Is everyone ready to go? It’s a long march through the western mountains to the Plegian border.”

A young boy mage that June somehow hadn’t met yet rushed in from behind Chrom. “Captain! I’m all packed! When do we leave?!”

“Ricken? How did you… Go back inside. You’re not old enough for this mission,” Chrom said firmly. He waved the others to go ahead and June followed the steady march of the Shepherds out of the courtyard.

“It’s a little unfair that Ricken doesn’t get to go but me and Donny do,” June commented lowly, speaking mostly to herself.

“A little bit,” Kellam murmured back. “But Chrom has his reasons I’m sure.”

June glanced back over her shoulder to see Chrom turning his back on a very displeased looking Ricken. June forced back a smile. She knew she’d be seeing the boy mage again fairly soon. 

 

They marched until they literally could not see more than five feet in front of them. Fires were lit and food was made. June caught a glimpse of Emmeryn going into her tent, which was heavily guarded by Pegasus knights. She was a beautiful as the game art suggested and June felt the pang of guilt in her chest once more. She shook her head, glaring at the cup of tea in her hands. Even if she did say something, she doubted it would change anything. 

“Woman.” June turned to see Lon’qu standing a good distance from her, two small wooden blades in his hands.

“Are we practicing now?” she asked. She assumed they were, but there was a saying about assuming for a reason.

Lon’qu nodded stiffly, so June stood and set her cup on the seat she’d just been using. She followed him a short distance, just away from the rest of the Shepherds but still close enough to the fires that they could still see. He tossed her the wooden knife and June just barely caught it. She held it in her fist so that when her arm was down at her side the blade pointed away from her leg.

“Good, you can at least hold it right,” Lon’qu observed.

June looked down at the fake dagger in her hand. “Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. Feels more comfortable this way, at any rate.”

“It’s harder to disarm you this way,” Lon’qu explained. “And you can put more power behind your blows. It’s not a very flexible way of fighting, but if you’re desperate enough to use your knife you probably don’t care about flexibility.”

He took a stance and June jumped to mimic him. He showed her a few basic movements, pointing out every little thing she did wrong but never coming close enough to fix them for her. They went on for what felt like forever, until the fires had finally started to die and June’s arms felt like jelly. 

“We’re done here,” Lon’qu finally said and June dropped to the ground with a groan.

“Thank GOD!” she groaned loudly. “So, are we gonna do this again tomorrow night or what?”

“We’re not doing this again,” Lon’qu growled.

“What? Why not?” June demanded.

“You know what you need to,” Lon’qu explained brusquely, turning to walk away. “Everything else is learned through experience.”

“You just don’t want to have to deal with me outside of battle,” June muttered, shifting her gaze to the dirt, a heavy frown on her face. 

Lon’qu stiffened at the comment, stopping in his tracks. He turned to glance at her over his shoulder.

“I know you have issues with women, it’s whatever,” June said, aggressively dismissive. “Just don’t act like you’re leaving me with an ass load of knowledge just so you can get out of spending time with me. If you’re uncomfortable, just say so. I can find someone else to help me.” 

She stood up and tossed the practice blade at Lon’qu’s feet. She held her head as high as she could and gave him the coldest glare she could muster before turning on her heel and marching towards her tent. Even as she tried to keep her pride about her, she could feel tears prickle at the corners of her eyes. She sniffed loudly, scowling as she sped up in her march towards her tent. She knew this was how things were going to turn out. She’d played the game enough to know about Lon’qu’s issues, hell she ‘married’ him twice. So why did it sting so much when he did it to her face instead of to some avatar behind a screen? 

 

They resumed their march early the next morning, even before the sun had finished rising over the horizon. June had slept poorly the night before, unused to sleeping on a simple cot and bedroll. Her back was terribly sore and the long hours of marching between her turns on the supply cart didn’t help. She started to wonder why she hadn’t asked to borrow K’in again. She wasn’t the most in shape person in the world but she felt down right pitiful compared to the Shepherds, who seemed barely winded. Even Donny was doing better than she was. 

The terrain was starting to get hilly and June could see the mountains in the distance. They’d reach them tomorrow morning, just before noon according to Frederick. Tomorrow, she’d finally meet Gangrel. 

She avoided Lon’qu like the plague when they finally camped for the night, something that did not go unnoticed by the others. Alfre stopped her on the way out of the women’s bathing tent.

“What’s going on with you and Lon’qu?” she asked, grip tight on June’s arm.

“Nothing,” June replied, trying to sound casual but even she could hear the bitterness in her voice. “He doesn’t want to be around me, so I won’t force him.”

She purposefully looked away from Alfre’s concerned expression. She rushed off the moment Alfre’s grip on her arm loosened, passing by Stahl and Donny without a word. She hated how much she was letting this affect her, especially when it wasn’t even Lon’qu’s fault he was so tense around her. He didn’t treat her any different from the other women, so why was she taking it so personally? Was it because of her experience in the game? It was a possibility. She had to keep reminding herself that this wasn’t a game. Not any more.

 

Despite Emmeryn’s insistence that this would be a peaceful encounter, Chrom had them all arm themselves the next morning as they neared the mountain pass where they would meet the Mad King of Plegia. Alfre snatched up June’s old tome and gave her a new one as they marched. 

“What’s wrong with my old one?” June asked as she stared down at the yellow leather of the tome. 

“Nothing, really,” Alfre admitted, tossing the old tome into the supply wagon. “But this one is more powerful. These are trained soldiers we’re fighting, not just random brigands. You could use the extra fire power. Or thunder power, as the case may be.”

June’s grip on the tome tightened until she could feel her hands shaking. She quickly put the book into its holster at her side so Alfre wouldn’t catch her trembling. 

Like Frederick predicted, they reached the mountain pass at midday. Chrom walked with Emmeryn and Lissa to the front of the company, where they were greeted by Gangrel, who stood with a woman in black atop a cliff.

“What’s this, then? The exalt herself, in all her radiance? I fear I must shield my eyes! Bwa ha ha ha!” 

June’s grip on her bow tightened. The man was just as despicable in person as he was through the game screen. She felt Lon’qu’s eyes on her white-knuckled grip, but she didn’t return the glace.

Mirabelle was brought forward and June realized this was the first time she was seeing the noble woman. How Gangrel expected anyone to believe that such a delicate looking woman was able to do any sort of real damage to a person was beyond June, but she knew Mirabelle was a feisty woman despite her appearance and lack of physical strength. 

June’s attention turned back to the Exalt and the King when Gangrel mentioned the Fire Emblem and his wish to kill every Ylissean as revenge for the suffering his people went through under the rule of the last Exalt. June scowled at that. Reasons or not, Gangrel’s actions were unacceptable. 

“He can’t honestly hold Emmeryn responsible for whatever the last exalt did, can he?” June hissed, earning her a glance from Kellam on her other side.

“Not reasonably, no,” Kellam agreed. “But he’s not called the Mad King for nothing.”

There was a ruckus up front as Plegian soldiers rushed towards Emmeryn only to be cut down by Chrom. June couldn’t see his face, but she could hear the rage in his voice as he shouted for the rest of the Plegians to stay back. 

Gangrel cackled, a crazed grin on his face. “Now that’s a decleration of war if I’ve ever heard one…a big, messy war that will bleed you Ylisseans dry. Bwahaha!”

Alfre scrambled to give orders as the Plegians moved to begin combat, a rare look of panic on her face. One of Emmeryn’s Pegasus knights grabbed the exalt and took off into the air with her, getting her as far away from the fighting as they could. At least Alfre wouldn’t have to worry about devising a plan to keep Emmeryn safe.

“What about Mirabelle?” Lissa demanded with a sob as Frederick pulled her up onto his horse.

Alfre’s head snapped to where Mirabelle was just a moment before to see Ricken swoop in and rescue her from her captors. But they weren’t out of the woods yet.

“Go with Frederick and meet up with them,” Alfre told her. “They can hold off a few Plegians with Ricken’s magic, but they won’t hold out forever. GO!”

Frederick took off with Lissa, Kellam and Sully rushing off after them as fast as they could. Sumia didn’t even need to be told to fly to Chrom and be ready to evacuate the prince should things get bad. Miriel, Vaike, Alfred, and Stahl were sent to the far side of the mountain pass to cut off any reinforcements that might be coming to relieve the Plegian force. Virion and Donnel were sent to help Chrom and Sumia, who were sure to be onset by glory seeking soldiers who wanted a chance at killing the prince.

And, of course, Alfre insisted Lon’qu go with June. The Plegians had many wyvern riders in their army, and it was a well known fact that flyers were weak to arrows. June would focus on taking down the riders and Lon’qu would keep ground troops from reaching her. 

June and Lon’qu rushed into the fray, Lon’qu cutting down a Plegian axe wielder just seconds into the fight, blood splattering on the ground. June turned away from her partner, forcing herself to remain calm as she aimed an arrow at a wyvern rider. She fought to stay her trembling hands as she fired, flinching at the choked, gurgling sound the rider made as her arrow sliced through the flesh of his throat. She fought back the nausea in her gut as she drew another arrow and found her next target. If she just kept going and didn’t think about what she was doing too hard maybe she’d be okay. Maybe…

She had no idea where Lon’qu was. He wasn’t by her side, she could tell that much because he probably would have told her to stop flinching every time one of her arrows hit its mark. Even if she looked for him she probably wouldn’t be able to find him in the chaos of the battle and time spent looking for him would be time she could have spent keeping her friends safe. 

The scream that ripped from her throat as she felt metal pierce her side was the worst sound she had ever heard in her life. 

She collapsed on the ground, reaching weakly with her hand to feel the wound in her side, just next to where the edge of her breast plate stopped protecting her. The slow, throbbing sensation of bleeding was what she recognized first. Then came the stinging pain, followed by disbelief. She turned her head slowly, her vision blurring as she saw the face of her assailant.

“So this is Ylisse’s rumored archer mage,” the soldier hissed. “I expected better than this from the person everyone’s been talking about. How pathetic…”

“Be silent!” June barely heard Lon’qu growl before he relieved the Plegian’s head from his shoulders. He then immediately turned to June with a look she couldn’t quite place. Was it fear? Anger? Hesitation? The pain throbbed in her side again and she let out a sob. Oh, there were the tears. She felt herself being lifted from the ground, the pain singing in her side as whoever was holding her jostled her body. 

She opened her eyes just enough to see Lon’qu’s face through the blur of pain and tears. Her wounded side was pressed against his body as he held her close and ran across the field, shouting for a healer. 

“I’m sorry.”

He looked down at her, stopping for only a second before remembering the situation and taking off running again. She could hear the sound of hooves pounding on the rocky dirt. 

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed out again as she felt herself being set down on the ground.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, darling.” That was Mirabelle’s voice. Lon’qu had found a healer.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Ricken was there too. Some small part of June that was able to think despite the pain was happy he was concerned about her. 

“The wound is deep, but nothing vital was hit, lucky for her,” Mirabelle announced, holding her healing staff just above June’s wounded side. “She might have bled out if I hadn’t gotten to her in time, but since I did, we can just ignore that little caveat.” 

The healing magic was warm and cool at the same time as it stitched June’s flesh back together. It was a strange feeling, having your flesh magically mend itself. June almost expected it to tingle but that wouldn’t have been the right word for the sensation. It was more of a numbness, followed by a deep feeling of exhaustion in her bones and a dull ache, a remnant of the pain that had been there just moments before. June exhaled with a groan, trying to push herself up from the ground. Mirabelle reached out to steady her, thin arms wrapped around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” June breathed, giving the noble woman a weak smile.

“Think nothing of it, darling,” Mirabelle insisted. “You must be June. Lissa has told me much about you in her letters.”

“That’s me,” June said with a nod. “It’s good to see you’re okay, Mirabelle. Lissa’s been worried sick.”

“Enough talk,” Lon’qu snapped, back to his usual grumpy self now that June’s life wasn’t in any danger. “We have a fight to win.”

“I’ve lost my bow,” June pointed out. “I dropped it when that guy stabbed me.”

“Magic works just as well against those wyvern brutes as any arrow would,” Mirabelle informed her, mounting her horse once more. She winked at her. “Give them hell, my dear.”

June grabbed her tome from the holster at her hip. Her movements felt sluggish, possibly from the blood loss. She stayed close by Lon’qu’s side this time, making sure he was always there in the corner of her eye. Magic was more versatile than archery was, so if she had to she’d be able to more easily protect herself, but she wasn’t good enough to both effectively protect herself and knock wyvern riders out of the air. Not in the state she was in, at any rate.

It was Alfre that landed the finishing blow to the general with her wind magic. Despite the victory, no one seemed particularly keen to celebrate. The band of soldiers ignored their own exhaustion and immediately set off on a march back to Ylisstol. If Lon’qu stood closer to her than he ever had before, June pretended not to notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive the late update, I worked this weekend and wasn't able to write as much as I wanted to. But I did make my Monday update, which makes me happy. Would have been so upset with myself if I didn't make it. As always, I look forward to hearing from you guys in the comments.


	6. Interlude (Time and Time Again I'm Half Stalled)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive my unexpected absence, things were really busy for me and then Fates came out and that consumed my life for a bit there (you can definitely expect to see a fic from me once AMS is done and I've played through the whole game). Anyway, here's a new chapter for you all. I hope to speak with you in the comments! Enjoy!

June awoke the next morning feeling far worse then she had felt in a long time. She woke coughing, her chest feeling heavy as she tried to breathe and found it very difficult. She felt cold and achy and all around not in the condition to march anywhere, let alone for a whole day. Her head pounded as she attempted to sit up, the world spinning a little bit. She groaned, brining her hand up to her forehead as if it would help stay her headache. 

“Miss June?” June looked up to see Donny poking his head in through the flaps of her tent. “Are ya alright? Everyone else is fixin’ ta march.”

“Sorry, Donny. I’ll be up and ready in a moment,” June apologized, trying to hold back a fit of coughing but failing terribly.

“Jumpin’ jack rabbits, Miss June, you sound horrible!” Donny exclaimed, rushing to her side and pressing a refreshingly cool hand to June’s forehead. “You’re burnin’ up! Stay right here, I’ll go get a healer!”

June sat on her bedroll, her meager blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and waited for Donny to return with one of the healers. What she didn’t expect, was for Donny to come back with a small parade of people behind him. True he brought a healer in the form of a very concerned looking Alfred (then again, Alfred always looked concerned), but he also brought along Alfre, Stahl, Kellam, and even Chrom himself. June smiled weakly at Alfred as he kneeled beside her, his positively freezing hand feeling her forehead and cheeks. He sighed gently, removing his hands and turning to the rest of them.

“She’ll be fine, but this isn’t something I can fix with a staff,” he explained. “Best I can understand, she’s sick with a common seasonal illness, but because she’s not from Ylisse, it took a much greater toll on her body. Some rest and medicinal tea will ease her back into good health.”

“Thank ya kindly, Alfred,” Donny said with a sigh of relief. “I near about had a heart attack.”

Alfred laughed lightly, a sweet sound that June found she quite liked, and smiled at the young farm boy reassuringly. “I appreciate your concern for June, Donny. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to help her to the wagon? Be slow with her, she’ll likely get dizzy if you make her walk to fast in the state she’s in.”

Donny nodded, an almost comically serious look on his face, and bent down to wrap a steading hand around June’s upper arm as she hauled herself up. 

Alfred then turned to Chrom and the others. “It would probably be a good idea to have people take shifts looking after her today, just to make sure she doesn’t get worse.”

Chrom nodded. “I’ll let the others know and we’ll get some volunteers rounded up.”

 

June sat on the back of the wagon, her thin blanket traded out for a warm quilt that Emmeryn had offered up when she saw Donny passing through camp with an obviously ill June at his side. It was a small kindness, but June got the feeling that Emmeryn did these kinds of things all the time without thought. June sat and waited, watching the other Shepherds bustle about around her, finishing the small chores that needed to be finished before they could head out. She felt bad that she couldn’t do her part, but forcing herself to do manual labor in her condition wouldn’t help anyone. So she sat in the wagon and watched, trying hard not to nod off. 

She was shaken into wakefulness by the wagon moving, turning to see Lissa and Mirabelle. The princess smiled brightly at her and the noblewoman had a small teapot in her delicate hands.

“Chrom told us you weren’t feeling well,” Lissa said. “Mirabelle thought some tea might help.”

“It’ll do wonders for your aches,” Mirabelle insisted, pulling a surprisingly plain looking cup out and pouring June a cup of tea. “And I’m sure your throat is sore from the coughing.”

June took the cup gingerly in her hands, letting the steam waft around her face for a few moments before taking a careful sip. It was bitter, and June must have made a face at that because Lissa burst out laughing. Mirabelle gave June a knowing look and pulled out a small pot of honey. She dropped a generous spoonful into June’s cup and stirred. June took another sip once she was done, the bitterness of the tea mostly gone, replaced by the sweetness of the honey.

“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice already rough from her coughing. 

“Think nothing of it, darling,” Mirabelle insisted, sitting primly on the edge of the wagon. “It wouldn’t do to let one of our most talented soldiers be brought down by a simple cold.”

“I’m not a soldier,” June insisted, though the protest sounded rather weak. “And even if I was, I am certainly not that talented.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Lissa said with a wry grin.

The wagon lurched into motion, signaling the start of the march home. Ricken came riding by on Mirabelle’s finely groomed mare, answering June’s question about where the noblewoman’s steed was. The march was slower returning to Ylisstol than it was leaving, but the pace still would have worn June out even without her being sick. 

Mirabelle and Lissa left June during the short break for lunch, and Frederick took their place. He brought with him a small bowl of soup, which was warm going down and stopped her from feeling quite so cold. Alfred dropped by for a short moment to check on her. He was happy that her fever hadn’t gotten any worse, but asked Frederick to make sure she got some sleeping during the next bout of marching. 

It felt strange, not seeing Frederick riding ahead to check for danger or (if June remembered right from the game) clear pebbles out of the way. He was quiet, probably so he wouldn’t distract her from trying to sleep. She didn’t much feel like sleeping, but illness tended to make one tired anyway so sleep she did. She wasn’t terribly sure how long she’d slept, but when she woke the sun hadn’t fully set yet and the march was still ongoing. Frederick was gone, replaced by Miriel, who looked up briefly from her book to acknowledge the fact June was indeed awake before returning to the text in front of her. 

June’s coughing got bad again as the sunlight faded and it got cooler. Whatever medicine the tea Mirabelle had given her had was wearing off and it showed. No matter how much June tried to keep herself from coughing, she would inevitably let one through and that would start a fit that would last several minutes, tearing up her throat in the process. 

“Oh, you poor dear.” June looked up to see Virion coming her way with a plate of bread and some kind of meat and a cup of something steaming. “Here, let Virion’s soothing presence heal what ails you.”

June took the cup of tea gratefully, gulping down a mouthful despite the heat. She smiled when she realized that Mirabelle had remembered the spoonful of honey. It soothed her throat in a way that felt heavenly after her coughing fits and she felt herself sink into Emmeryn’s quilt. 

“You know, of all the people I expected to volunteer to look after little ol’ me, you weren’t one of them,” June admitted.

Virion gave her a knowing smirk. “Now, my dear lady, why would I, the archest of archers, refuse to spend time with a lovely creature as rare and mysterious as yourself?”

June snorted. “You’re sweet, but I ain’t none of that.”

Virion’s smirk fell, obviously upset by June’s self-deprecation. “My lady, I have met many, many people in my travels, and you are the only one who can say they are truly one of a kind.”

June took a sip of her tea, letting his words sink in but not saying anything. She wasn’t used to receiving compliments like that, especially not from men. She’d take it more to heart if it wasn’t Virion saying it, given his habit of complementing every woman he came across. Virion sighed dramatically, picking up the fork from the plate he’d brought for her.

“Lady Mirabelle insisted I make sure you eat,” Virion told her. “So I suppose I’ll just have to feed you myself.”

“Oh, there’s no need,” June insisted, a flush coming to her face that had nothing to do with her fever. “Just give it here, I’m a grown woman, you silly fop, I can feed myself.”

“FOP!” Virion gasped, nearly dropping the plate as he clutched at his heart. “Such a nasty word coming from such a lovely woman’s mouth. You wound me, Lady June.”

June, who had barely caught her food when Virion decided to be OVERLY dramatic, rolled her eyes. “I’d hardly call that a wound. More like a love tap. And honestly, what do you expect me to call you when you wear a cravat to a battle field.”

“Even love’s smallest blows can leave deep scars, my lady,” Virion informed her. “Perhaps you’ll keep that in mind when you find the person you love more than life itself.”

 

June awoke the next morning with her covers kicked off and a light sheen of sweat on her brow. Her body still ached, especially her chest and throat, and her coughing summoned all three of the healers to her tent, but otherwise she felt much better. 

Her tent, which Frederick and Sully had set up for her, had been erected within a small triangle of Alfred, Lissa, and Mirabelle’s tents, lest her condition worsen during the night. So when her loud, wet coughs began mere moments after her waking, the three were at her tent’s entrance in a matter of seconds. They were relieved to find that her fever had broken and, despite her insistent cough, she was getting better.

They still refused to let her march, though, for fear of the exhaustion stalling or even undoing her progress. So it was back to the wagon she went, still wrapped in Emmeryn’s quilt. Mirabelle and Lissa stopped by with that magic tea that made June feel infinitely better before shuffling off to help finish packing away the tents. Kellam stopped by mere moments later with a small loaf of bread that was smeared with a jam that June didn’t recognize. It was a wonderful mixture of sweet and tart and June found herself devouring her breakfast. 

Kellam stayed with her the rest of the morning, telling her stories of his family back home and how he wrote to them as often as he could. June listened with a small smile, cradling her mostly empty tea cup in her hands as the wagon rocked back and forth.

“What about you?” June turned to Kellam, the slight tilt of her head making him realize he should clarify. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Oh, yes. Two little sisters and a baby brother,” June said, catching Donny’s attention as he marched not to far behind the wagon. 

“What’re they like?” Donny blurted out, avoiding June’s gaze as she turned to look at him. 

“August is seven, and is all the things you sort of expect of a seven year old boy,” June said with a shrug. “He’s energetic and is always running around, and he changes his favorite color every week. April plays the violin and is in color guard and dances around the house like she’s still taking ballet classes. May plays the trumpet and is a short stop on her softball team and doesn’t take shit from nobody.” 

June realized her new friends probably had no idea what softball or color guard was, but they listened intently anyway. She missed the twins and her baby brother. She’d been gone more than a week now, someone had definitely noticed she was gone. She couldn’t imagine what her parents were going through. She closed her eyes, trying to force back the tears she could feel coming. She tried to take a deep breath through her nose but only ended up sniffling loudly. 

“Ah! I’m sorry, Miss June! We didn’t mean ta make ya cry!” Donny insisted, flailing like he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands.

“No, it’s alright,” June said, rubbing at her eyes. “I just…I feel bad for my mom and dad. They have no idea what happened to me and I have no way of telling them I’m okay…or…” June slid her hand round to where just two days ago a dagger had been plunged into her side. “Mostly okay.”

Kellam and Donnel didn’t seem to know how to reply to that and the three fell into a heavy silence. At some point June realized she must have fallen asleep because when she woke up Kellam and Donnel were nowhere to be found and she was leaning her head against someone’s shoulder. She shifted slightly, looking up to see Lon’qu’s frowning face. She squeaked, tumbling back away from the myrmidon and getting tangled up in Emmeryn’s quilt along the way.

“I’m sorry, Lon’qu! That must have been so uncomfortable for you,” June apologized as she tried to untangle herself. 

“’S fine,” Lon’qu grunted. “Your health is more important than my comfort.”

June stared at the man. Was it just her or was he not as tense as he usually was around her? He certainly wasn’t nearly as stiff as he usually was, which was probably how she was able to keep sleeping on his shoulder. She scooted back towards him a little at a time, gaging his reaction as she did. Despite the fact he was pointedly not looking at her, he didn’t look like he would up and run away like he always did. She took this as a good sign.

“Um, I wanted to thank you.” That got him to look at her. “For saving me, I mean. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

Lon’qu looked away again. “I didn’t do anything. It’s that frilly healer you should be thanking.”

“I have,” June said in agreement. “But if you hadn’t gotten me to her I would have bled out then and there.”

She didn’t mean to sound so blasé about it and the fact she could say that so casually almost frightened her, but it made Lon’qu look at her again.

“I did what anyone would do,” he muttered. “You’re important to a lot of people here. That farm boy would have broken his back carrying you to a healer if he had to.”

June hands gripped tightly at the quilt that was wrapped around her shoulders. “Am I…am I important to you, too?”

An unfamiliar look crossed Lon’qu’s face, softer than his usual expressions, something with a hint of sadness to it. 

“What made you think you weren’t?”

June swore her heart stopped beating as she stared at him, eyes wide and mouth open like she wanted to say something but she couldn’t find the words. The silence between them was deafening as the wagon rolled to a stop. Lon’qu finally broke their eye contact as he jumped down to the ground. June’s eyes followed him as he glanced over his shoulder one last time before walking away. 

She didn’t even notice Alfred approaching with a fresh cup of Mirabelle’s miracle tea until he spoke up. “June? Are you okay?”

June pressed her lips together tightly as she finally felt her heartbeat return to her, racing and pounding against her chest. 

“No,” she whispered. “No, I don’t think I am.”


	7. Lend Me Your Hand and We'll Conquer Them All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, I'm back with a new chapter. We're really getting into the meat of the story (and by extension the real meat of Lon'qu and June's relationship lol) so I hope ya'll're enjoying it! As always, I look forward to talking with you in the comments and thank you all for your kudos!! Given my experience with my other stories I didn't expect to reach double digits let alone to get 20! I appreciate all the love you've given to me and June.

June felt much more like herself when they finally made it back to Ylisstol, her aches and pains having faded and only a few, sporadic coughs left to remind her of her illness. She hadn’t seen Lon’qu since that day she’d fallen asleep on him despite her best efforts to ask after him and seek him out. He was avoiding her now. Had she done something wrong? Did she upset him? She hoped not.

She found herself wandering her new home late at night, her bare feet padding quietly across the cold stone floor. She had no idea what she was doing, being up so late, but she couldn’t bring herself to fall asleep. 

She heard a sign from the courtyard below her and turned to see Chrom standing out in the middle of the open space. Alfre wandered out to join him.

“Chrom?” she called cautiously. “What are you doing out so late?”

Chrom turned to face the tiny tactician, a look of surprise fading to a sad frown. “Oh, hi, Alfre. Just…dueling with some unpleasant thoughts…Tomorrow we march to Regna Ferox to request additional soldiers. But there’s something you should know first. …Not everything Gangrel said was a lie. The last exalt, my father, waged war on Plegia for many years. The violence...” June heard Chrom’s voice waver at the memory. “It was a brutal campaign, ending on with his death fifteen years ago. Plegia rightfully remembers their suffering, but this war was no kinder on his own people.”

June turned to lean her back against a pillar as she listened to Chrom speak about the horrors of the first war with Plegia. It was one thing to read it, but his voice…the man sounded like he was on the verge of tears, be them out of anger or sorrow she couldn’t say.

She pushed off of her pillar when she heard a third voice enter the conversation. A glance over her shoulder told her that the masked young man from Regna Ferox had joined the prince and his tactician in the courtyard. June remembered this well enough and turned to return to her room. She’d need to be properly equipped when Alfre came to inform them of the assassins that would be making their way into the palace soon enough. 

 

June had her new bow in hand when Alfre threw open her door and shouted something about assassins. June was running down the hall after her seconds later, shouting as loud as she could to wake up the rest of the Shepherds that were being housed in the barracks. They met just outside Emmeryn’s chambers, a young woman with the same deep blue hair as Chrom was already there.

“Who’s the new chick?” Vaike asked from the back of the group.

“This is Marth, the masked swordsman who fought for Basilio,” Alfre explained briefly. “Apparently she’s actually a swordswoman.” 

June glanced briefly at the young woman. The woman’s eyes met hers and narrowed suspiciously. June frowned and looked back to Alfre, who was giving the Shepherds their orders. It probably shouldn’t surprise her that Marth was suspicious of her. She was a foreigner to this world, and unknown. And unknowns, when you thought you knew everything, were frightening. 

“June!” The archer shifted her attention to Alfre as the tactician addressed her. “Go to the mezzanine with Lon’qu. Take out assassins as they come in. If we can thin them out before they get close to Emmeryn’s chambers, we lessen the chance of one of them slipping through Chrom’s line. Lon’qu. Make sure she doesn’t have to worry about anything else.”

The two nodded and rushed off, not even sparing a glance in the other’s direction. She caught a quick glimpse at Virion and Donny as they made their way to the other side of the mezzanine, Donny’s hand gripped tight on his new steel lance. 

She hid herself behind a large, ornate marble pillar, notching her first arrow without hesitation. She peeked around her cover, trying to see as much as she could without revealing her hiding spot. Lon’qu knelt in the shadow the pillar cast, ready to strike at anyone who came close to his partner. It was odd, June realized, how easy it had become for the two of them to think of each other as partners. Or perhaps it wasn’t. June couldn’t think of a single time Alfre hadn’t decided that they would work with someone else since Lon’qu joined. At first June had assumed that Lissa had told the tactician about her crush on Lon’qu. But it seemed that after a while Alfre honestly thought the two of them worked well together. And it seemed like they did. At least while they were on the battle field. Noncombat situations were a different story. 

June caught sight of an assassin slipping in through the door and released an arrow. It flew straight and true, catching the assassin in the leg just as Virion’s arrow sliced through the man’s throat. 

“You can’t pussyfoot around this, woman!” Lon’qu growled softly. “Either shoot to kill or go hide in your barrack!”

“Nice to know that your first instinct after avoiding me for days is to insult me and my morals,” June hissed, scowling as her next arrow caught an assassin in the back.

“I’m not insulting you! The exalt’s life is on the line! If you can’t find the resolve to kill now then you need to go home!” he argued back. “…and I haven’t been avoiding you!”

“I haven’t seen hide nor hair of you since…since our talk on the cart,” June said coolly, shooting another arrow through the tender side on a barbarian. “It seems not only are you a swords master, you’re a master of sending mixed messages!” 

Lon’qu growled angrily, slicing his sword through the torso of an oncoming assassin. “Why are you thinking so hard about it?”

“What else am I supposed to do?” June shouted, slapping her hand over her mouth mere seconds afterwards. That…that was stupid. She could hear the assassins approaching them now. “Fuck.”

Lon’qu glared at her, readying his blade for the assassins that were coming their way. “Alfre gave you a job to do. Do it.”

June frowned heavily, but nodded and turned back to the level below anyway. She tried hard to block out the sounds of metal slicing through flesh and the assassins’ cry of pain. She reminded herself that if Lon’qu didn’t kill them, they would kill her. And her life was far more precious to her then the lives of however many assassins were coming after her and Emmeryn. With that in mind, she released another arrow, watching it sail through the air and stab through the throat of an on coming dark mage. 

The sounds of slaughter quieted behind her; Lon’qu had done his job. The assassins had been coming slower, which meant…

June felt a coldness in her chest as Validar slid through the opening in the palace wall his men had blown open earlier. His long, slow strides made him seem even more serpentine then his long, thin body did. June looked across the hall to Virion, who seemed to be struggling to come to the decision of whether or not to shoot at the man. June turned her head at the sound of thundering footsteps. At the top of the main stairwell stood Chrom and Alfre. 

June could hear Validar’s chuckle as it echoed in the hall. Never before had she imagined she could feel so violated by a sound, but the shudder that passed through her could be described in no other way. 

“Well, well,” Validar’s oily voice reverberated in the open air, “Ha ha ha! Oh, I know you… Submit to me, and perhaps I might honor you with the truth!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Alfre shouted back down at him.

Validar merely smirked at her, raising his hand and sending a wave of fire towards Chrom and Alfre. The duo dove out of the way, hiding behind ornate pillars just like June and the others. Something hissed through the air and June watched as the sorcerer’s magic burned Virion’s arrow before it could reach him. Chrom could do nothing from the distance he was at and Alfre’s wind magic paled in comparison to Validar’s flames. 

“I have to do something,” June whispered, her grip tightening on her bow.

“What can you expect to do?” Lon’qu questioned, leaning in close to June in order to peer around her shoulders. “That fussy nobleman’s arrow was burned before it could reach him and your magic isn’t as strong as Alfre’s yet.”

June’s brows furrowed as her lips pressed into a thin line. Lon’qu was right. Virion was a far better archer than she was. And her magic, while strong, wasn’t nearly as strong as Alfre’s. So what hope did she have using it against Validar? 

Then, an interesting thought popped into her head. She remembered the Levin swords and the Shocksticks and the Bolt axes. All weapons that used magic to attack. Why couldn’t she do that with her arrows?

She reached for her tome and tossed it to the ground at her feet. Then, she drew an arrow and quietly notched it to her bow string. She inhaled deeply, reaching out with her mind to the tome at her feet and feeling the electricity run up and down her limbs.

“What are you doing?” Lon’qu hissed, stepping back from June as her body began to spark. 

June turned and flashed him a wild grin he’d never seen before. “Something really fucking stupid.”

She kicked the book out farther from the pillar and leapt out from behind her cover, bow string drawn tight. She could see Virion and Donny’s looks of concern and hear Chrom’s shout of shock at her sudden appearance. She was lucky Validar was still dueling with Alfre, otherwise, what happened would never had worked.

As she released her arrow, she gathered all the lightning coursing through her into her finger tips and forced it into the thin shaft of her arrow. She let it fly with an impassioned cry.

“ARCTHUNDER!”

Validar, unaware of where the shout had come from, had no chance of escaping this arrow. The lightning charged arrow cut through his flames and landed in the fleshed place where shoulder met neck. His concentration broken, the flames disappeared and Chrom took his chance.

The Falchion cut through Validar and his body fell to the ground, sparks still running up and down his limp corpse. Chrom, panting as the adrenaline left his body, turned to stare up at June, who stood frozen in shock. She hadn’t really expected her plan to work. But somehow it had. 

She fell to the ground, the hard marble hurting her ass but she paid it no mind. She stared into the aether, bow in her lap and her tome laying before her. 

“June?” Alfre’s awed voice broke her from her trance. “How did you…?”

“I mean…levin swords exist…I thought…maybe the principle could be applied to my bow…” June attempted to explain.

“But those are specially made to channel a person’s magical ability!” Alfre argued, her hands waving wildly. “You just attached a spell to an arrow!”

“Well…at least it worked?”

Alfre opened her mouth to argue some more but seemed to decide against it. She smiled in a way that clearly said she didn’t know what the hell to think and shook her head.

June felt a warm hand on her shoulder as Alfre turned to walk away. She looked up to see Lon’qu’s face, a small, almost impressed looking smile on his lips.

“Will you ever cease to surprise?”

“Probably,” June admitted. She paused before speaking again. “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

“It’s not the worst thing you could have done,” Lon’qu said with a shrug, removing his hand from her shoulder and holding it out to help her up.

“True enough,” she agreed, laughing a little as she hauled herself up. 

“Just because I disappeared after I said it doesn’t make it any less true.” June swore her face grew warm at the words and the almost aggressive way Lon’qu held eye contact. “You’re important to me.”

There was a warm, giddy feeling in her chest at those words. Words that were said with every ounce of sincerity and courage Lon’qu could muster. She squeezed their still connected hands and smiled.

“You’re important to me, too,” she told him, her voice soft. “So please, don’t ever disappear like that again. I don’t know what I’d do without my precious partner.”

Lon’qu’s eyes went wide and his face flushed at her words and June had to hold back a giggle. He was absolutely adorable when he was flustered. Her giggles caught in her throat when she felt him squeeze back and give their hands a small shake.

“It’s a promise.”


	8. But Give Me Your Heart and I'll Just Let You Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter for all of you! Again I just want to thank you for all your comments and kudos. You all are so sweet and I really appreciate it. We're really getting into the thick of the first arc of the story so I'm always excited to see you guys enjoying it. Hope to see you in the comments! Enjoy!

“How do you do it?”

June frowned in confusion at Lissa’s question. “Do what?”

“Keep Lon’qu from freaking out every time you go near him!” Lissa exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

The group was marching through the mountians of western Ylisse, escorting Emmeryn to the western palace for her safety. Chrom couldn’t bare to leave his sister in Ylisstol after the assassination attempt but Emmeryn refused to go stay with Flavia in Regna Ferox, so this was the compromise they reached. 

June shrugged, a secretive smile on her lips. “I guess after fighting together so much he just got used to me.” 

Lissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously at June before glancing over her shoulder to send the same suspicious glare Lon’qu’s way. June mirrored the princess’ actions, their stares catching Lon’qu’s attention. His brows furrowed in barely-concealed confusion. June simply giggled, waving casually at him, which only seemed to confuse him more. Lissa rolled her eyes and sped up, moving to march up ahead with Chrom and Alfre. 

June glanced around the mass of people. Kellam was with Sully in the rear, Donnel had run off elsewhere, and Stahl and Alfred were having a good old time by themselves. So she marched quietly on her own for a while. The air was fresh and clear and the breeze that swirled around the mountains made her hair fly. The sky was a beautiful blue, not a cloud in the sky. 

“Hey, Summer Child, what’s eating you?” June turned to see Gaius slip into step beside her. 

“You’re about as creative as my parents when it comes to those nicknames of yours.”

“You wound me,” the thief drawled. “Now, why aren’t you with your little harem of brunettes? You usually are.”

“Stahl’s with his boyfriend, if you hadn’t noticed,” June joked, jerking her thumb in Alfred and Stahl’s direction. “Kellam’s in the rearguard with Sully. Donny’s god knows where and Lon’qu’s being Lon’qu.”

“I guess you’re pretty lonely then.”

“Not really,” June replied with a shrug. “I’m a bit of an introvert anyway. When you’re surrounded by people all the time, you tend to appreciate the moments of quiet.”

“Should I leave you alone?”

“If you want to.”

Gaius hummed, taking a lollipop from his pocket and popping it into his mouth. “You know, Summer Child, I don’t think I will.”

“Alright,” June smiled and pointed at his candy. “But I want one of those.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Summer Child,” Gaius chuckled. “Lucky you, I stocked up before we left. Here.” 

He tossed her a small, round lollipop in a red wrapper. She unwrapped it, making sure to hold on to the wrapper, and stuck it in her mouth. Cherry flavor spread over her tongue. She hadn’t had anything this sweet since she’d gotten to Ylisse and she had forgotten how good candy tasted. She gave a little appreciative groan and Gaius smirked. 

“Better not make those kinds of noises around me,” Gaius teased. “Your boyfriend might get the wrong idea.” He glanced over his shoulder at Lon’qu. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” June corrected him casually.

“Does that mean I have a chance?” Gaius waggled his eyebrows at her and June snorted.

She removed the candy from her mouth with a pop. “Probably not, but you’re welcome to try.”

It wasn’t often June came across someone she could banter with like this. Sure she could talk with Stahl and Kellam and Donny and Lissa just fine, but this kind of playful teasing reminded her of the friendships she’d had back in high school. 

They stopped towards midday, and even from her position towards the back of the group June could hear Lissa’s complaints. Not that she blamed her for complaining; the terrain wasn’t made for walking at the pace they were going and she was fairly certain EVERYONE was tired. 

June noticed a man in green robes glancing around at the mountain peaks. June remembered him from her game. The hierarch. The fact he was actually doing something worth noticing could only mean bad things. Her eyes narrowed and she slipped her bow from her shoulder. Gaius raised a brow at her but June didn’t acknowledge his confusion. Instead, she too trained her gaze on the cliffs above them. She could feel more than see Lon’qu coming up behind her. Slowly, she made her way to the outer edge of the group, trying to not let anyone notice her drawing and notching an arrow. 

The sound of a gruff laugh brought her attention to the front of the pack, where brigands had appeared before Chrom and the others. She released her arrow without a word, the shaft cutting through the air and landing with a wet sound in the chest of one of the Plegians.

“It’s an ambush!” she shouted, spurring the Shepherds into action. 

“Damn it!” Chrom growled. “How did they know we were here?”

Alfre didn’t have time to give orders, but the Shepherds fell into their usual pairs as if it was second nature to them. Wyvern riders fell upon them from the cliffs above. Barbarians and soldiers burst out from the rocks. And in the middle of it all, the man in green robes rushed out to meet them.

“Hold, sir!” the man shouted, addressing the commander of the Plegians. “I am the man King Gangrel told you about! Did you not receive orders to take me into your protection?”

The commander sneered down at the traitor. “I’ve orders to protect a man, true. But I see no man here! Only a pig! A rasher of traitorous bacon that sold out his own sovereign! And what do we do with little piggies mmm?”

The hierarch was sweating nervously. “Well, you…I mean, perhaps…You let them go free?”

The commander laughed heartily atop his wyvern. “Oh, are you a chicken now? We’ve got a whole barnyard in our midst. Well, it don’t matter what you are. The axe will fall just the same!”

June turned away as a Plegian barbarian fell the hierarch with his axe, but she felt no pity towards the man. Were he betraying a ruler like Gangrel she should understand it. But Emmeryn…what was it about her that made her worth selling out? She couldn’t think of a damn thing and it made her blood boil. No, that man deserved his death.

She only caught a glimpse of Phila spiriting Emmeryn away from the fighting, but that was enough to calm her nerves. Another arrow left her quiver and found a new home in a wyvern rider’s stomach. This was getting easier, and June wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Lon’qu rushed ahead of her, cutting down an archer before it could try to catch her off guard. In response, she sent a bolt of lightning towards a soldier that was coming up on his left. He sent a grateful half-smile her way before diving back into the battle, working his way back to her side. 

He hadn’t noticed the archer training an arrow on him. 

June barely had time to register how much of a BAD IDEA it was before she rushed to Lon’qu and threw herself in front of him. The arrow was stronger than she anticipated it to be. It pierced her armor and pain radiated out from her right shoulder. She couldn’t tell if this was worse than the dagger or not, but at least she didn’t scream this time as she dropped to her knees.

She made to shoot a bolt of lightning at the archer, but Stahl burst in from her peripheral vision and cut the man down. Alfred leapt from the back of the cavalier’s horse and sprinted to June, staff at the ready. Some nostalgic part of June thought that May would have been impressed by the slide Alfred did across the rocky ground as he came to kneel beside her. 

The removal of the arrow hurt a hell of a lot more than the initial penetration, but at least Alfred didn’t bat an eye at June’s hoarse cursing. She really, REALLY didn’t want to cry, but tears streamed down her cheeks anyway, blurring the sight of a crimson haired Pegasus rider as she came into view. She shouted about wyvern riders coming behind her, and Alfred poured more healing magic into her flesh. They would need her back in the game if they were going to take on any more wyvern riders. 

She felt trembling hands on her arms, keeping her sitting up right as Alfred mended her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened at how pale Lon’qu looked. She’d never seen him so scared. His dark eyes seemed to be fixed on her, but at the same time it was almost like they were seeing something else entirely. June opened her mouth to speak…

“Lon’qu, please don’t grip her arms so tightly,” Alfred warned softly. “She’ll be fine and I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate you leaving bruises on her.”

Lon’qu said nothing, but he removed his hands from June. Again she wanted to say something, but Alfred interrupted her.

“How’s that?” He asked and June realized that he had finished mending her shoulder.

“Much better,” June sighed. “Thank you.”

He stood and extended his hand to help her up. She stood on shaky legs, that bone deep exhaustion that seemed to be a side effect of healing magic settling in.

“Try not to be too reckless now,” Stahl reminded softly as he helped Alfred back onto his horse.

“I’ll try,” June promised with a smile. 

Stahl and Alfred galloped off and June turned to face the oncoming wyvern riders, just beyond her bow’s range. She drew an arrow from her quiver and aimed, waiting for the Plegians to get within range. Lon’qu stood just behind her, sword at the ready and face still pale. She released her arrow just as she was starting to be able to see the details in a wyvern riders’ armor, striking the rider down. Virion and Ricken were with her, arrows and wind magic flying at the Plegian’s reinforcements. 

A loud cry came from the other side of the battle field, and June and the others turned to see Chrom defeat the Plegian commander. The rest scattered and Phila sent her Pegasus knights after them. The one who had come to warn them about reinforcements stayed, landing in front of Chrom and his sisters.

“Your Grace! My prince! Run! As far and as fast as you can! More Plegians are coming, not half a day’s march behind you!” she shouted, half breathless. 

June listened as the Pegasus knight, Cordelia, told her captain of the ravaged border and cried for her fallen comrades. A resolute look feel across Emmeryn’s face and June braced for what was to be the turning point that sent everything down hill.

“I must return to the capital.”

Phila gaped at her. “Your Grace, I can not advise…”

“I should never have left,” Emmeryn’s firm voice left no room for argument. “If it’s discovered I’m away when this news comes to light…The pople could panic. Riot. More Ylisseans could needlessly die.” She turned to her brother. “Here, Chrom. I entrust this to you.”

She handed him a large, shield-shaped object. Chrom’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“The Fire Emblem…” he breathed in awe. 

“Take it to Ferox – to safety,” Emmeryn ordered. 

“And leave you? No, Emm.”

“No part of House Ylisse is more important than the Emblem. It possesses tremendous power. But too much blood has been shed over it already. I hope it finds a better guardian in you than it did in me.”

June gasped quietly. She finally understood. Emmeryn always knew what would happen to her. She wanted to speak up, to stop her from making the decision June knew the exalt had made some time ago. But she couldn’t. Emmeryn was already taking off for Ylisstol. And their company was already pushing north to Regna Ferox. 

The world seemed like a lesser place already.


	9. Love It Will Not Betray You Dismay or Enslave You (It Will Set You Free)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, sorry for the unexpected absence, life has been a little crazy. I have also decided that I will be uploading every OTHER Monday instead of every week. This way, I feel like I won't rush to meet the deadline i've set for myself and hopefully write better chapters.
> 
> Speaking of chapters this one didn't go how I expected it to at all, but I think that might have turned out for the best. Please enjoy it, I look forward to hearing from you in the comments. Thank you as always for all your support, I really appreciate it! Enjoy!

Lon’qu was avoiding her again.

Only it was worse this time because he was actively doing it. He would not speak to her when he passed her by in camp and, if he was able to, he would avoid coming near her in general. It was driving June mad because she could not for the life of her figure out what she did wrong!

It was going to make the march to Regna Ferox feel very, very long. 

 

The Shepherds set up camp the second day of the march, raising their tents along a slow moving river that they’d have to cross the next morning. June huffed loudly as she tried to erect her tent and finding it more difficult than she wanted it to be. Usually she’d get Donny or Stahl to help her out, but they were out hunting with Lon’qu for that night’s meal. So she was on her own and having a rough time of it. All she really needed was another pair of hands dammit.

“June?” the archer turned to see Alfred approaching, the red dyed leather of the fire tome in his hands catching her eye. “Do you need some help?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” June admitted.

“Of course!” Alfred chirped, setting his book aside to jump in. “I was actually looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I’m all ears,” June said. “What’s up?”

“Well, I hope you don’t think I’m prying, but did something happen between you and Lon’qu?” he asked, concern lacing his youthful features.

June sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I can’t think of anything I could have done to make me angry at me. And every time I try to approach him about it he runs away, sometimes without even giving a bull shit excuse!” 

The two stood, stepping back to admire their handiwork before Alfred spoke again.

“Would you like me to ask him? He generally seems comfortable around me,” Alfred offered.

June shook her head. “No. Whatever is going on is between me and Lon’qu and I don’t want to drag anyone else into this.” 

Alfred nodded in understanding, shifting his hold on the tome in his hands.

June glanced down at the tome and then back up at Alfred’s big blue eyes. “So, you trying to learn magic?”

Alfred’s pale cheeks turned pink as he looked down at the book to acknowledge the fact that it was indeed there. “Oh! Um, yes. Well, I just figured since we’re going to really be at war, I should learn to hold my own in a fight. I can’t keep relying on Stahl, you know.”

“Why not? He doesn’t seem to mind,” June teased, grinning for the first time in days.

Alfred’s face was now more red than pink as he stuttered through his words. “Oh I-I couldn’t p-possibly! I would never want to be a burden to him!”

“I highly doubt he thinks of you as a burden,” June insisted gently, her grin fading to a soft smile. “He likes you a whole lot. But I have a feeling you like him far more then you let him think you do.”

“YOU CAN’T TELL HIM!” the healer squeaked loudly, reaching out to grasp June’s sleeve in a vice grip.

“I won’t say a word,” June promised. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

Alfred released her sleeve with a huff, his hand going to his hip. “How about you take your own advice before you preach to me.”

June felt her cheeks heat up and she pointedly turned away from Alfred’s gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“June,” June was surprised by the firmness in Alfred’s voice. “You threw yourself in front of an arrow for him. Everyone in the army knows already, save for maybe Lon’qu but there’s nothing we can do about him.”

“Hard to tell him shit when he avoids me like the plague every time I do ANYTHING!”

Alfred gave her a sympathetic shrug. “All I know is that he probably cares more about you then he likes to let on. At least that’s what Lissa and Maribelle keep saying.”

“You need to stop going to their gossip parties,” June chided playfully.

“But I like our tea times,” Alfred pouted. 

June gave him a light shove on his shoulder. 

 

June wandered through the camp, shivering slightly in the chilly air. Chrom and Frederick had pushed the Shepherds hard during the past days of marching. A trip that Miriel mentioned would usually take 5 days had been pushed down to a little over three. They were nearly at the border of Regna Ferox, and the chill in the air reminded them of that fact every time the wind kicked up. June shivered, rubbing at her arms in a feeble attempt to warm herself. She needed to get back to her tent and just bury herself under her blankets.

But then she saw Lon’qu slipping into his tent. If she was ever able to get him to talk to her, this was her chance. He probably wouldn’t tell her anything about what the actual problem was but, perhaps, she could get to the heart of the issue.

June counted her blessings that their tents only had one entrance. It was easier to trap Lon’qu that way (because there was no way he was going to risk Frederick and Cordelia’s wrath for using his swords to make a back door in the fabric). Her nerves were frazzled, but she forced her hands to stop shaking and schooled her face into a calm expression.

“Lon’qu.” She saw him freeze as she called his name. “We need to talk.”

Lon’qu turned to face her out of courtesy, but he refused to meet her eyes. June stepped forward to be more inside the tent, and he took a quick step back, nearly knocking over his small lantern. 

And June can’t keep up the calm act any more.

“Who did this to you?!” she was just barely able to keep herself from shouting. “Who made it so I can’t fucking TALK TO YOU?! I don’t even know what I did to make you avoid me and I can’t find out because every time I come near you, you run away! I thought you promised me you weren’t going to do this any more!”

“June…” Lon’qu tried, but June held up a hand. She wasn’t done.

“Tell me about her,” She demanded. “Tell me about the woman who ruined the relationship I have with my partner before I even met him.”

“It was nothing she did,” Lon’qu corrected. 

“Tell me,” June insisted.

Lon’qu breathed deeply, his body shuddering as he remembered. “Her name was Ke’ri…we knew each other when we were young. We were attacked by bandits one day…and I could not save her. She died protecting me.”

June’s brows furrowed at his words, sympathy welling up inside her. She had not know about any of this. It had never been mentioned in his supports with the avatar. She felt terrible now, for bringing up such painful memories.

“Her parents, rightfully, blamed me for her death. I was but a boy from the slums, and I had taken their only daughter from them.”

“You’re wrong!”

“What?”

“You didn’t take their daughter from them! The only ones to blame in this situation are the bandits and her parents! The bandits for killing her and her parents for shoving the blame onto a young boy who could only do so much.” 

It shouldn’t have hurt so much for June to see surprise on Lon’qu’s face, but it did. This man had lived with misplaced guilt his whole life because of this.

“But now because of all this…you’re scared to get close to a woman because you think it’ll happen again.”

He said nothing, but June knew she’d hit the nail on the head.

“Lon’qu…” She tried to reach out to him, but he stepped back once more. She let her hand limply drop back to her side. “The situations aren’t comparable. Things are different now. You’re stronger than you were. And I’m not some helpless little girl. Whether I like it or not, I’m a soldier now. I can shoot lightning from my fingertips and I have killed more people than I care to admit! You’re not gonna lose me. Not that easily. I’m not Ke’ri. I’m June. I wish you’d see that.”

God, she was crying again, she could feel the warm, salty wetness on her cheeks. She looked down, so Lon’qu wouldn’t see it. She gasped when she felt a rough, calloused thumb touch her wet cheek to wipe away her tears. She looked up, and Lon’qu was right there. His face looked pained, eyes cloudy with doubt and lips pressed into a tight, thin line. 

“I never wanted to make you cry.” June’s breath hitched at the wavering of his voice. “I just…I wanted to keep you safe. But you…you threw yourself in harm’s way for me. I’m not worth that.”

“If you want me to stop crying then stop saying those kinds of things about yourself!” she scolded, trying to meet his eyes even as her vision blurred and more tears slid down her cheeks. “You are worth that and so much more, you hear me! You deserve all the love in the world! And if I’m the only one who’ll give it to you, then fine! But I can’t do that if every time I get injured you run and hide from me. This is war, like officially, I’m bound to get hurt. And you’ll get hurt too. That’s what Alfred and Lissa and Maribelle are here for.”

June jumped as Lon’qu’s head dropped to rest on her shoulder and his hands came to grip her arms.

“Say that again.”

June looked down at Lon’qu’s mess of brown hair for a moment in confusion before understanding dawned on her. She slowly, gently, lifted a hand to cup the back of his neck and the other to rest on his shoulder.

“You deserve all the love in the world,” she murmured softly. “And if I’m the only one who’ll give it to you, then fine.”

His grip tightened and he buried his face in her neck. She felt him take a deep, shuddering breath. She felt like she was holding something delicate. Like a small animal or a precious glass statue. She felt a warm wetness soak through her shirt and she gave a breathy laugh.

“Look at us, we’re a mess,” she joked and Lon’qu stepped back, shifting a little bit in embarrassment. June smiled up at him. “But I love you anyway.”

June swore her heart stopped as Lon’qu’s eyes snapped up to meet hers. She tightened her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms, but she didn’t run away. 

Lon’qu opened his mouth to immediately shut it again. He repeated the cycle twice more before scowling and muttering a curse under his breath.

“You don’t have to say it,” June assured him. 

“But I want to dammit!” he shouted, obviously more angry at himself than June. 

June smiled brightly, moving to cup his cheeks in her hands. “That’s more than enough.” 

He stared at her, eyes flicking down to her lips once, twice. His cheeks were warm under her palms. June giggled.

“I really wanna kiss you,” she whispered. “Can I?”

Lon’qu cheeks only grew warmer in her hands as he nodded. June stood on her toes and placed a quick, soft kiss to Lon’qu’s chapped lips. That brief, sweet contact spurred the myrmidon into action and he surged forward to catch June’s lips with his own. One of his rough hands went to her cheek and the other caught the small of her back, pulling her to him. His lips were warm and firm against hers and she couldn’t stop the little groan that escaped her. 

Lon’qu pulled back first, watching the way June’s eyes fluttered open once she realized she could breathe again. His eyes took in her flushed cheeks and her dazed expression and he felt something akin to pride that he was the one who made her look that way.

“I…” Lon’qu was at a loss for words. What did someone say after something like that?

“Yeah,” June agreed, somehow understanding everything. She burst into giggles, giddiness overtaking her. Lon’qu huffed, which was a close to a laugh as June had ever heard out of him. 

A content quiet fell over the two. June wasn’t entire sure what to say next and she wasn’t even sure if anything else needed to be said. Her hands were in Lon’qu’s hair, gently scratching soothing circles into his scalp as he rests his head on her shoulder once more. 

“I think I’m on first watch,” June muttered, like she didn’t want to admit she had to leave (she didn’t want to leave, she really didn’t). 

“Should I wait up for you?” 

June hummed thoughtfully. “As delightful as that sounds, no, that’s alright. Chrom’s gonna drive us like race horses tomorrow. We’ll need all the rest we can get. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

Lon’qu nodded against her neck, picking up his head to place one last kiss to June’s temple. She slipped from his hands, moving to the entrance of his tent. She took one last glance over her shoulder and gave him a small, shy smile.

“Good night, Lon’qu.”

“Good night, June.”


End file.
